Vi Partners with Spotify to Offer Three-Month Free Premium to Subscribers

Vi, the Indian telecom operator formed from the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, has announced a partnership with Spotify that will give Vi subscribers who have not previously used the streaming service three months of free access to Spotify Premium Standard. The offer is available to users on Vi’s individual or family plans and can be activated directly through the Vi mobile app.

Spotify Premium Standard provides ad‑free listening, the ability to download tracks for offline playback, and audio quality up to 320 kbps. After the complimentary period ends, subscribers can continue the service by adding it to their Vi bill at the standard market rate of ₹139 (about $1.57) per month.

Amarjit Batra, managing director of Spotify India, said the deal is “the first‑of‑its‑kind telco partnership in India.” The collaboration follows a similar arrangement that Vi entered with Hungama Music in December 2021. Hungama Music ceased operations in April 2025, after which Vi’s partnership with Spotify became the operator’s primary music‑streaming tie‑in.

Airtel, another major Indian telecom, had a comparable arrangement with its own music platform, Wynk Music. When Wynk was shut down in August 2024, Airtel migrated its premium users to Apple Music. These partnerships illustrate a broader trend of telecom operators leveraging their large subscriber bases to provide value‑added services such as music streaming.

Spotify’s presence in India has grown steadily since its launch in the country. The service offers a catalog of more than 100 million songs and over 7 million podcasts, and it operates on a freemium model that includes an ad‑supported free tier and a paid Premium tier. The Premium tier is the only option that supports offline listening and higher‑quality audio.

Vi’s subscriber base, which reached 192.8 million as of March 2026, makes it the third‑largest mobile operator in India and the 12th largest worldwide. By bundling Spotify Premium with its plans, Vi is adding a digital entertainment option that can help retain customers and differentiate its service offering.

The partnership also reflects Spotify’s strategy of expanding its user base in emerging markets through local telecom partnerships. In other regions, Spotify has partnered with operators such as T-Mobile in the United States and Telstra in Australia to offer bundled subscriptions.

According to data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), as of May 2026, Vi and Airtel together account for a significant portion of India’s mobile market. While TRAI does not disclose specific subscriber numbers in the public release, the combined reach of the two operators provides a large audience for music‑streaming services.

For creators, producers, and musicians, the partnership means that a larger segment of the Indian population will have easy access to a global music catalogue. It also offers a potential new channel for artists to reach listeners who may not have previously subscribed to a paid streaming service.

From a business perspective, the deal allows Spotify to tap into Vi’s billing infrastructure and customer base, while Vi can offer a premium digital service without the need to develop its own music‑streaming platform. The arrangement is structured so that Vi users can opt in at no additional cost for three months, after which they can decide whether to continue paying the standard subscription fee.

The collaboration is part of a broader trend of telecom operators in India bundling digital services, including video streaming, gaming, and e‑commerce, to add value for subscribers and compete in a crowded market.

In summary, Vi’s partnership with Spotify provides Vi customers with a three‑month free trial of Spotify Premium Standard, after which they can continue the service at ₹139 per month. The move positions Vi as a key player in the Indian music‑streaming ecosystem and reflects Spotify’s strategy of partnering with local telecom operators to expand its user base.

The partnership is already live, and Vi users can activate the offer through the Vi app. Spotify’s Premium Standard remains the only tier that offers ad‑free listening, offline playback, and high‑resolution audio.

The partnership is expected to influence other telecom operators in India to explore similar collaborations with music‑streaming services, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape for digital entertainment in the country.