Best Indian music streaming sites

If someone asks you to preserve a CD before they get obsolete, you might want to consider it as a recent research stated that discs will soon be replaced by streaming movies. Yes, it says movies, but this may even extend to music in the near future, going by the way things are moving. This scenario may soon enter the Indian terrain, but there has been a change in the way we consume digital data, leading to a rise in the number of music streaming sites giving access to Indian music. There are some nifty streaming options available online for Indian music enthusiasts and here are the best 5 that made it to our list. 

Saavn

They call me Spotify of India

Saavn, also referred to as the desi version of Spotify brings in all those peppy tunes for Hindi music lovers. Music ranging from the 50s to the 90s, also including the latest Bollywood chartbusters can be found here (obviously licensed). Saavn is the abbreviated version of South Asian Audio Video Network and also includes some other Indian regional songs. The service underwent a complete UI makeover in 2010, enabling faster searches and quicker streaming. It has even dished out some nifty mobile apps for Android and iOS users. Besides, it has also made it to the Chrome Web store and have also partnered with Facebook to make the streaming service global. This ad supported service, recently declared crossing 9 million active users and 1 million daily streams.

Dhingana

Festival of music

The name may sound weird to some, but this music streaming site is easy to use and swift in functionality. Create smart lists, or rate songs as per your liking. It has neatly labeled music under Hindi Movies, Hindi Pop, Hindi Remixes and so on. This site’s reach isn’t limited to Bollywood, but also includes music across Indian languages, like Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Sindhi and much more. So, basically, this service offers legal music to numerous users following music belonging to different genres and languages. Obviously, nothing could stop this music service go mobile and it is available for iOS, Android and BlackBerry smartphone users. The recommendations feature will let you follow others with a similar taste for music, and yes stay connected via Facebook.  

Raaga

Rhythmic tunes online

Yes, the musical name seems just apt for Indian music streaming sites. Raaga means a melodic mode used in Indian classical music, but the streaming site stretches far beyond the classical music genre. This site has different channels like Hindi, Devotional, Punjabi, Bengali, Fusion, and even world music. Creating playlists, sharing them with others and even watching music videos has been made possible by this streaming site. Catering to different music genres, we liked the musical e-greetings card section too. Raaga will keep you entertained on smartphones that run on iOS and Android as well.

Gaana.com

Truly desi music

Yes, the name says it all. Gaana has set neat sections, like New Releases, Most Popular, Playlists, Genres, Artists, Albums and Radio stations. This music service site has gone completely social with Facebook Timeline integration, which allows others to know what you are listening to and also share common likes and dislikes. Besides Indian music, you will also find some good international artists here. The site is in its alpha state and recently launched an HTML5 iPad version.

Musicindiaonline

My name says it all

Here’s yet another music streaming site and its name clearly sates what it is capable of doing. This streaming site puts forth multilingual Indian music on the listener's platter, with music ranging from Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Himachali, among others. It covers various genres, such as pop, fusion, ghazals, remix, classical and more, to bring music to all types of users depending upon their likes and dislikes. It lets you browse, make playlists, upload songs and set as Favorites. The interface is simple and one wouldn’t take too long to get a hang of it. Besides catering to users speaking over 30 languages, this streaming website offers online radio, too.

Besides, we’ve found Grooveshark quite efficient and it plays famous Hindi songs, too. Another option here, would include Eksur which is presently under renovation. Which one of these has kept you musically glued to your screen, do let us know in the comments section. You can also share your experience about using these sites.

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