Indian eCommerce giant Flipkart opens online music store

Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart is launching its own DRM free music store.

According to Indian tech blog Pluggd.in, Flipkart’s new service, called Flyte, will allow people to download DRM free MP3s capable of working on any device.

The offering reportedly comes courtesy of Mime 360, a startup bought out by Flipkart, as well as a massive Bollywood back catalogue from Chakpak.

Users will apparently be able to download each song they purchase five times (including the initial purchase) before being cut off.

The announcement comes fresh off the back of news that Flipkart had bought out one of its main competitors in the Indian ecommerce sector LetsBuy.

Pluggd.in reports that Flipkart’s next venture will be in the ePublsihing sector.

The fact that Flipkart is expanding its operations so quickly may be indicative of rapid growth in the Indian ecommerce sector.

The entrance of powerful competition in the form of Amazon-owned online retail aggregator Junglee is further evidence of this growth.

At present only about 10% of India’s population is online, although that number is set to explode in the next few years. Late last year, Google predicted that India’s online population would triple by 2014, largely on the back of smartphone infiltration and telecoms players investing in high-speed wireless infrastructure.

Flipkart started out life as an online bookstore. It was founded by two IIT Delhi alumni who had previous experience working for Amazon. Soon it became one of the top 100 websites in India and also the largest online book seller in India. The company now has eight warehouses across India and is known for prompt delivery. In 2010, Flipkart diversified into CDs, DVDs, mobile phones, accessories, cameras, computers and more. It is said Flipkart sells an average of 20 products every minute. The company aims to generate US$1-billion in the next five years.