During a tour of India that included meeting with Bollywood stars and the announcement of new Mac labs at KM Music Conservatories, Apple SVP Eddy Cue said the company has a big interest in bringing more Indian music to Apple Music and introducing it to the outside world, The Economic Times of India reports. Apple has been pushing to enter India’s market on multiple fronts, and Cue said Apple is working with new and existing artists to make sure customers of Indian descent both within India and around the world see their culture reflected in Apple’s content offerings.
Cue was mum about rumors of Bollywood collaborations with the company’s fledgling video content division, but said, “Bollywood is as good at creating content as anybody else around the world. And I am sure we will do things here because it’s a great film and entertainment market.”
The company has also rolled out student pricing for Apple Music within the country, at least partly addressing the ever-present problem of high costs being a large barrier to the adoption of Apple’s services and products among the largest part of the population.
Cue answered criticims that Apple has considered India as something of an afterthought, saying the company is “investing a tremendous amount” in getting things like Apple Pay and Maps up and running, and using local engineering talent to do so. “When you look at Apple music, the most aggressive price point is here in India.