Indian artists’ Spotify royalties rise 29 per cent in 2025

MUMBAI: Indian music is not just finding its rhythm, it is finding its revenue too. Royalties generated by Indian artists on Spotify rose 29 per cent year-on-year in 2025, with regional languages, independent musicians and international listeners all helping push the country’s streaming economy higher, according to Spotify’s latest Loud & Clear report.

The growth was far from being a Hindi-only affair. Telugu music recorded the sharpest rise, with royalties jumping more than 120 per cent, while Marathi royalties climbed nearly 50 per cent and Bengali grew close to 40 per cent.

Malayalam royalties increased more than 30 per cent, Hindi rose nearly 30 per cent and Tamil grew 20 per cent, underlining how India’s regional music markets are increasingly becoming commercial forces in their own right.

Spotify said Indian artists were discovered by first-time listeners around the world 12.8 billion times in 2025, up 14 per cent from the previous year.

Across the platform, Indian artists generated close to 335 billion streams, equivalent to more than 20 billion hours of listening. More importantly for the economics of streaming, listeners outside India accounted for more than 40 per cent of the royalties generated by Indian artists during the year.

The global audience is also looking beyond Hindi. Punjabi, Tamil and other regional-language music are increasingly travelling beyond their original markets, giving Indian artists a larger international footprint.

The streaming boom is also changing who gets heard. Indian artists accounted for 90 per cent of the tracks on Spotify India’s Daily Top 50 in 2025, while independently released music and tracks outside traditional film soundtracks made up half of the year-end top 10 in India.

Aditya Rikhari’s Sahiba was one of the standout independent releases, spending more than 11 consecutive weeks at the top of Spotify India’s chart.

The international story is similarly tilted towards artists rather than film soundtracks. Of the 15 Indian songs on Spotify’s Global Impact List, 11 were artist-led releases, featuring names such as AP Dhillon, Karan Aujla, Hanumankind, Anuv Jain and Kushagra.

The money is spreading beyond the biggest names too. The number of artists earning more than Rs 1 crore annually in royalties increased 21 per cent year-on-year, while the number earning more than Rs 5 crore has more than doubled since 2023.

Haryanvi music is among the clearest examples of this regional surge. Its streams increased almost sevenfold between February 2023 and February 2026, while nearly 100 Haryanvi acts now feature among Spotify India’s top 5,000 artists.

Spotify has also expanded its artist-development efforts alongside this growth, adding Malayalam to its RADAR programme this year after previously extending the initiative to Punjabi and Tamil music.

Women artists are contributing to the momentum as well. Streams of female Indian artists among domestic listeners rose 27 per cent year-on-year in 2025, while international streams increased 7 per cent.

Jasmine Sandlas was among the artists benefiting from the trend. Her contribution to the Dhurandhar soundtrack helped take her to number three on Spotify’s Global Top 200, while her independent releases have continued to add to her presence on the platform.

Spotify’s EQUAL and RADAR programmes are also being used to support women artists and emerging talent across languages and genres.

The international potential of regional music is increasingly visible in individual releases. Hanumankind’s Big Dawgs, for instance, has crossed 360 million Spotify streams and reached the top of a global Spotify chart.

Fan activity is adding another layer to the export story. Indian artists appeared in nearly 59 million user-created playlists in India and 112 million playlists globally during 2025.

The numbers point to a music economy that is becoming less dependent on a handful of Bollywood hits. From Telugu and Haryanvi to Tamil and Punjabi, India’s musical map is widening — and Spotify’s latest figures suggest the world is increasingly willing to press play.