Indian Artists Are Finding Success Across More Languages, Genres, and Borders

India’s music streaming economy is growing like never before. That’s the big takeaway from the India edition of this year’s Loud & Clear report, Spotify’s annual look at how artists earn money from streaming and where the country’s music economy is headed next.

In 2025, royalties generated by Indian artists on Spotify grew 29% year over year, with every major Indian language contributing to that rise. And that increase translates into real earnings: the number of artists generating more than INR 10 million annually grew 21% year over year, while the number earning more than INR 50 million doubled since 2023.

Listeners around the world are helping fuel that momentum. Last year, fans pressed play on an Indian artist they had never heard before 12.8 billion times. In all, listeners streamed Indian artists nearly 335 billion times on Spotify, adding up to more than 20 billion hours of music.

To introduce this year’s report, Spotify held a Loud & Clear event focused on what the rise of artist-first music in the country means for artists today, and where the industry may be heading. There, Spotify Punjabi editor Mehak Chauhan Bhullar moderated a panel featuring Dhruvank Vaidya, Head of Music & Podcast, Spotify India alongside artists Aditya Rikhari and Simran Choudhary.

Read on to explore more key takeaways from the 2025 Loud & Clear report in India.

Last year, 90% of the tracks on Top 50 – India were by Indian artists. And they’re finding success in new ways.

While the country’s legendary Bollywood film system remains a major musical pipeline, I-Pop—popular Indian music released outside of Bollywood film soundtracks—accounted for half of Spotify’s 2025 year-end top 10 in India, with tracks from Kushagra, Anuv Jain, Faheem Abdullah, and Jasleen Royal charting right alongside film favorites. Aditya Rikhari’s track “Sahiba” made history by holding the number No. 1 spot on Spotify in India for more than 11 consecutive weeks.

“Streaming changed the scale of what was possible for me as an independent artist,” Aditya said. “Songs that started from a very personal place were able to reach listeners across the country, sometimes long after they were released. Spotify’s discovery tools, in particular, helped my music reach a bigger audience. To every fan of mine who aspires to become a musician, just put your work out there. You never know where it might travel.”

These artist-first releases are finding fans outside of India, too. On Spotify’s 2025 Global Impact List, which measures top songs beyond their home country, 11 of the top 15 most exported Indian songs came directly from artists, outside of a film soundtrack.

Still, film continues to be a pathway for discovery and, increasingly, a bridge between independent artists and wider audiences. Dhurandhar, one of the biggest film albums of 2025, featured a number of independent artists, including Simran Choudhary.

“Streaming has completely changed what it means to be a Punjabi artist today,” Simran said. “You no longer have to wait for a big label or a traditional industry gatekeeper to take your music to the world. For an independent female artist like me, that ability to build a direct relationship with listeners has been incredibly empowering.”

As more listeners discover music made in India’s regional languages, artists who haven’t always held the mainstream spotlight are benefiting. Globally, the biggest year-over-year increases in generated royalties for regional-language music are:

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• Telugu: up over 120%
• Marathi: up nearly 50%
• Bengali: up nearly 40%
• Malayalam: up over 30%
• Hindi: up nearly 30%
• Tamil: up 20%

Haryanvi, in particular, is having a breakout moment. Streams in the language saw a nearly sevenfold increase from February 2023 to February 2026, making it one of the fastest-growing languages on the platform.

“Two years ago, artists performing in Haryanvi or Malayalam languages didn’t have the kind of reach they do today,” said Dhruvank Vaidya. “The audience was always there; what Spotify built was the infrastructure to surface it, monetize it, and ensure artists earned from it.”

Spotify is continuing to invest in that next wave of regional-language talent, with RADAR expanding to Malayalam this year following Punjabi and Tamil.

More than 40% of all royalties earned by Indian artists on Spotify in 2025 came from listeners outside India, a sign of just how far Indian music is traveling.

Anirudh Ravichander’s original motion picture soundtrack for Coolie in Tamil crossed 100 million streams in just 10 days and earned a Times Square billboard in New York City. Sai Abhyankkar and Sai Smriti’s Tamil single “Aasa Kooda – from ‘Think Indie’” hit 238 million streams. Hanumankind, a rapper born in Kerala, saw his track “Big Dawgs (feat. Kalmi)” reach 360 million streams and hit No. 1 on a Spotify global chart. And Spotify recently brought highlighted Punjabi music on our global RADAR playlist, spotlighting artists Tegi Pannu and Watan Sahi.

Women artists are also increasingly gaining traction, too, thanks in part to programs like EQUAL and RADAR. In 2025, local streams of Indian women artists grew 27% year over year, while international streams grew 7%.

Head to our Loud & Clear website to see the global report.