Bengaluru, Sep 03: Royalties generated by Indian artists on Spotify grew 29percentage in 2025 – with every major Indian language contributing to that growth. Telugu royalties surged over 120percentage year-on-year. Marathi rose nearly 50 percentage. Bengali nearly 40percentage. From Haryanvi to Malayalam, streaming is converting India’s linguistic diversity into real and growing income for artists across the country. The data comes from Spotify’s annual Loud & Clear report, which this year tracks how more than Dollar11 billion in global music royalties were distributed by Spotify in 2025 – bringing the platform’s all-time total to nearly Dollar70 billion.
In 2025, listeners globally pressed play on an Indian artist they’d never heard before – 12.8 billion times. That’s 14% more than the year before. Indian music – across languages and genres – is finding audiences at a pace that few cultural exports anywhere in the world can match. That discovery is translating into deeper listening – Indian artists were streamed nearly 335 billion times on Spotify last year, adding up to over 20 billion hours of music.
Royalties generated by Indian artists on Spotify grew 29% year-on-year in 2025. In fact, the number of artists generating over INR 10 million annually grew 21% year-on-year. The number earning over INR 50 million has more than doubled since 2023. The growth isn’t concentrated at the top – it’s spreading across the artist base, across languages, and across genres.
India’s artists are charting on their own terms
In 2025, 90% of the tracks on Spotify India’s Daily Top 50 were by Indian artists. I-Pop or popular Indian music released outside of film soundtracks accounted for half of Spotify’s 2025 year-end top ten in India, with hits from Aditya Rikhari, Kushagra, Anuv Jain, Faheem Abdullah, and Jasleen Royal charting alongside the country’s biggest film soundtracks. Notably, Rikhari’s independent track “Sahiba” made history in 2025 by holding the number one spot on Spotify India for over 11 consecutive weeks.
Speaking about his journey, artist Aditya Rikhari said:
“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. Spotify’s discovery tools, in particular, helped my music reach a much wider set of listeners, many of whom went on to genuinely connect with and love the songs. I believe the ecosystem will only keep evolving for the better for people who are trying to build careers as musicians in India, especially with partners like Spotify supporting that journey. So to every fan of mine who aspires to become a musician – just put your music out. You never know where it might travel.”
Independent artists are also shaping film music. Dhurandhar, one of the biggest film albums of 2025, featured independent artists like Jasmine Sandlas and Simran Choudhary.
Reflecting on the shift, artist Simran Choudhary said:
“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. I’ve experienced that first-hand with my own independent music and film songs like Lutt Le Gaya. What excites me most is that audiences are now discovering the artist behind the song, not just the song itself. For an independent female artist like me, that ability to build a direct relationship with listeners has been incredibly empowering.”
That dominance extends to India’s most exported music too – on Spotify’s 2025 Global Impact List, 11 of the top 15 songs were artist-first releases spanning languages and genres, from AP Dhillon, Karan Aujla, Hanumankind, Anuv Jain, and Kushagra. The music travelling furthest from India is the music artists made on their own terms.
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.”
Two years ago, artists performing in Haryanvi or Malayalam didn’t have this kind of economic reach. The audience was always there; what Spotify built was the infrastructure to surface it, monetise it, and ensure artists earned from it. When two brothers, Banjaare, from a village in Haryana can reach number one on a global chart, or a 22-year-old, Aksomaniac, from Thiruvananthapuram can break into one, that infrastructure is delivering.
Half of our year-end top ten in India last year came from outside film soundtracks. The music that’s travelling furthest is the music artists made on their own terms, in their own languages.”
From Telugu to Haryanvi – every language is finding its audience on Spotify
On Spotify, audience growth across regional languages is generating real and rapidly growing economic value for artists who were previously invisible to the wider industry:
- Telugu – up over 120% in royalties generated globally, year-on-year
- Marathi – up nearly 50%
- Bengali – up nearly 40%
- Malayalam – up over 30%
- Hindi – up nearly 30%
- Tamil – up 20%
Meanwhile, Haryanvi music has grown nearly 7x in streams on Spotify from February 2023 to February 2026, making it one of the fastest-growing languages on the platform. Nearly 100 Haryanvi acts now rank among Spotify India’s top 5,000 artists.
This year, Spotify expanded its Radar programme to Malayalam, following Punjabi and Tamil – a direct response to the growth the platform is seeing.
Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, who was a guest at the Loud & Clear India event in New Delhi, said:
“India’s music economy reflects the extraordinary creativity, diversity and entrepreneurial spirit of our artists. The 29% growth in Spotify royalties, supported by strong gains across Indian languages, shows how digital platforms are enabling talent from every region to find audiences, build sustainable livelihoods and participate in the global creative economy. It is particularly encouraging to see independent artists succeeding on their own terms and taking music rooted in their languages and identities to listeners around the world. As technology reshapes the creative industries, we must continue to strengthen the skills, digital capabilities and enterprise opportunities that enable young creators to convert their talent into meaningful careers. India’s linguistic diversity is not merely our cultural strength; it is increasingly becoming an economic strength and a powerful part of our global identity.”
India is exporting a different sound — multilingual, artist-led, and global
More than 40% of all royalties earned by Indian artists on Spotify in 2025 came from listeners outside India – and that international revenue is spread across languages, not concentrated in Hindi. Through editorial playlists, algorithmic discovery, and programmes like RADAR, Indian artists are reaching audiences far beyond their home markets.
Punjabi music has gone from regional to global in a way few genres anywhere in the world have managed. Artists are headlining arenas across continents and charting internationally as a matter of course. Spotify recently featured two Punjabi artists – Tegi Pannu and Watan Sahi – on Radar Global, spotlighting emerging talent for listeners worldwide.
The reach runs deep across languages. Anirudh Ravichander’s Coolie album – in Tamil – crossed 100 million Spotify streams within 10 days and earned a spot on the Times Square billboard through Spotify. Sai Abhyankar and Sai Smriti’s Tamil single “Aasa Kooda” reached 238 million Spotify streams and was highlighted in Spotify’s global growth report. Hanumankind, a global rapper born in Kerala, crossed 360 million Spotify streams with “Big Dawgs” and hit number one on a Spotify global chart. Each found a global audience on their own terms, in their own language.
Women artists are increasingly part of that global story. Local streams of Indian female artists on Spotify grew 27% year-on-year in 2025, while international streams grew 7%. Jasmine Sandlas’ features on the Dhurandhar soundtrack drove her to number three on the Spotify Global Top 200. In October 2025, she released “Legal Robbery,” her first full-length album in over five years, through her own label, Jasmine Sandlas Records. Through programmes like EQUAL and RADAR, Spotify continues to amplify women artists across languages, genres, and career stages.
What comes next
112 million user-created playlists globally and nearly 59 million within India featured Indian artists in 2025. Fans are already doing what no platform can do on its own – curating Indian music, sharing it, and building audiences for artists they believe in.