India’s streaming economy is expanding beyond Hindi film music, with regional-language and independent artists accounting for a growing share of listening and royalties. According to Spotify’s latest Loud
& Clear report, royalties generated by Indian artists on the platform increased by 29% year-on-year in 2025, while every major Indian language tracked by the company registered growth.
Telugu recorded the sharpest rise, with royalties climbing more than 120% compared with the previous year. Marathi grew nearly 50%, Bengali nearly 40%, Malayalam over 30%, Hindi nearly 30% and Tamil 20%.
The report, released in New Delhi on September 1, also showed that Indian artists were streamed nearly 335 billion times globally during 2025, amounting to more than 20 billion listening hours.
Indian Artists Were Discovered 12.8 Billion Times By New Listeners
Discovery was another major driver. Spotify said listeners around the world played an Indian artist they had never previously heard 12.8 billion times during 2025, a 14% year-on-year increase.
The financial gains were not restricted to a handful of top performers either. The number of Indian artists generating more than Rs 10 million annually in royalties increased 21% in a year. The number generating over Rs 50 million has more than doubled since 2023.
Dhruvank Vaidya, Head of Music & Podcast, Spotify India, said, “In 2025, 14% more listeners globally discovered an Indian artist on Spotify for the first time, and the listening went deep. Indian artists accumulated nearly 335 billion streams on the platform last year, over 20 billion hours of music, with royalties up 29% and growing in every major Indian language. Telugu alone is up over 120% year on year.”
Independent Music Takes On Bollywood Soundtracks
The numbers also point towards a change in what Indians are streaming. In 2025, 90% of tracks appearing on Spotify India’s Daily Top 50 were by Indian artists.
More significantly, half of Spotify India’s year-end top 10 consisted of I-Pop, or popular Indian music released outside film soundtracks. Aditya Rikhari, Kushagra, Anuv Jain, Faheem Abdullah and Jasleen Royal were among the artists whose non-film music charted alongside major Bollywood soundtracks.
Rikhari’s independent song Sahiba spent more than 11 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Spotify India during 2025.
“Streaming changed the scale of what was possible for me as an independent artist. Songs that started from a very personal place were able to travel to listeners across the country, sometimes long after they were released,” Rikhari said.
He credited Spotify’s discovery tools with introducing his work to new listeners and encouraged aspiring musicians to release their work rather than wait for conventional opportunities.
Independent musicians are also moving between the non-film and film ecosystems. The Dhurandhar soundtrack, one of 2025’s major film albums, featured artists including Jasmine Sandlas and Simran Choudhary.
Simran Choudhary On How Streaming Changed The Punjabi Music Business
For Simran, streaming has reduced an artist’s dependence on traditional industry routes.
“Streaming has completely changed what it means to be a Punjabi artist today. You no longer have to wait for a big label or a traditional industry gatekeeper to take your music to the world,” she said.
Referring to her independent releases and film songs such as Lutt Le Gaya, Simran added that listeners are increasingly interested in discovering the person behind a track. “For an independent female artist like me, that ability to build a direct relationship with listeners has been incredibly empowering.”
On Spotify’s 2025 Global Impact List, 11 of the 15 most-exported tracks from India were artist-first releases. AP Dhillon, Karan Aujla, Hanumankind, Anuv Jain and Kushagra were among the names represented.
Telugu Leads Regional Music Growth, Haryanvi Streams Rise Nearly Seven-Fold
Regional-language music registered growth across the board, but Telugu produced the biggest royalty jump at more than 120%.
Marathi royalties increased nearly 50%, followed by Bengali at nearly 40%, Malayalam at over 30%, Hindi at nearly 30% and Tamil at 20%.
Haryanvi has meanwhile emerged as one of the platform’s fastest-growing languages. Streams of Haryanvi music increased nearly seven-fold between February 2023 and February 2026. Nearly 100 Haryanvi acts now feature among Spotify India’s top 5,000 artists.
Spotify has also expanded its RADAR programme to Malayalam after previously extending the initiative to Punjabi and Tamil artists.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Jayant Chaudhary, who attended the Loud & Clear India event, said the growth demonstrated how digital platforms could help talent from different regions “find audiences, build sustainable livelihoods and participate in the global creative economy.”
Over 40% Of Indian Artists’ Royalties Came From Outside India
The report also shows that Indian music’s streaming business is increasingly international. More than 40% of royalties generated by Indian artists on Spotify during 2025 came from listeners outside the country.
That international audience is not restricted to Hindi. Punjabi music continues to have a sizeable global presence, while Spotify recently featured Tegi Pannu and Watan Sahi on RADAR Global.
Tamil music has also travelled well beyond its domestic market. Anirudh Ravichander’s Coolie album crossed 100 million Spotify streams within 10 days, while Sai Abhyankar and Sai Smriti’s Aasa Kooda reached 238 million streams.
Hanumankind’s Big Dawgs crossed 360 million Spotify streams and reached No. 1 on a Spotify global chart.
Indian Female Artists See Streaming Growth
Women artists also recorded gains in 2025. Local streams of Indian female artists rose 27% year-on-year, while their international streams increased 7%.
Jasmine Sandlas reached No. 3 on the Spotify Global Top 200 following her appearances on the Dhurandhar soundtrack. She subsequently released Legal Robbery, her first full-length album in more than five years, through her own label, Jasmine Sandlas Records, in October 2025.
Spotify also highlighted EQUAL and RADAR among its programmes aimed at increasing visibility for women artists across different languages and genres.
Indian Music Appeared In 112 Million User-Created Playlists
Listener-led curation provided another indication of Indian music’s reach. Indian artists appeared in 112 million user-created Spotify playlists worldwide during 2025. Nearly 59 million of those playlists were created within India.
The latest Loud & Clear numbers consequently show growth happening on several fronts at once: royalties are rising, regional-language catalogues are gaining listeners, independent releases are competing with film albums and international audiences are contributing a substantial share of earnings.
For Indian artists, 2025 ultimately produced a 29% increase in Spotify royalties, with the sharpest gains coming from a music market that is becoming increasingly multilingual.
