India's music economy on Spotify continued to grow in 2025, with royalties generated by Indian artists rising 29% year-on-year, according to the streaming platform's latest Loud & Clear report.
The growth extended across major Indian languages rather than being concentrated in Hindi or among a small group of established artists. Telugu music recorded the sharpest increase, with royalties rising by more than 120% from the previous year. Marathi royalties grew by nearly 50%, followed by Bengali at close to 40%.
Malayalam royalties increased by more than 30%, while Hindi grew by nearly 30% and Tamil by 20%, indicating the growing commercial reach of regional-language music.
Indian music reaches more global listeners
Spotify said Indian artists were discovered by first-time listeners globally 12.8 billion times in 2025, a 14% increase from the previous year. Indian artists accumulated nearly 335 billion streams on the platform, representing more than 20 billion hours of listening.
International listeners are also becoming an increasingly important source of revenue. More than 40% of royalties generated by Indian artists on Spotify during the year came from outside India.
The overseas audience is not limited to Hindi-language music. Punjabi, Tamil and other regional-language releases are increasingly finding listeners beyond their original markets.
Independent artists gain ground
The data also showed a growing presence for independent music on Spotify's Indian charts.
Indian artists accounted for 90% of tracks on Spotify India's Daily Top 50 in 2025. Independent releases and music outside traditional film soundtracks accounted for half of the platform's year-end top 10 in India.
Aditya Rikhari's "Sahiba" was among the independent releases to perform strongly, spending more than 11 consecutive weeks at the top of Spotify India's chart.
The trend was also reflected in Spotify's Global Impact List, where 11 of the 15 Indian songs that travelled furthest internationally in 2025 were artist-led releases. The list included music from AP Dhillon, Karan Aujla, Hanumankind, Anuv Jain and Kushagra.
The growth also extended beyond the industry's biggest names. The number of artists generating more than Rs 1 crore annually in royalties increased 21% year-on-year, while the number earning more than Rs 5 crore has more than doubled since 2023.
Regional music expands its commercial reach
Haryanvi music has emerged as one of the fastest-growing regional categories on Spotify. Streams in the language 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 expanded its artist development initiatives in response to the growth of regional music. The platform added Malayalam to its RADAR programme this year, following its earlier expansion into Punjabi and Tamil music.
Women artists record higher engagement
Female Indian artists also recorded increased engagement on the platform. Their domestic streams rose 27% year-on-year in 2025, while streams from international listeners increased 7%.
Jasmine Sandlas was among the artists to gain visibility during the year. Her contribution to the Dhurandhar soundtrack helped take her to No. 3 on Spotify's Global Top 200, while her independent releases continued to contribute to her audience on the platform.
Spotify's EQUAL and RADAR programmes are among its initiatives focused on promoting women artists and emerging talent across languages and genres.
A growing global footprint
Individual releases also reflected the expanding international reach of Indian music. Tamil music continued to attract listeners outside India, while Hanumankind's "Big Dawgs" has accumulated more than 360 million streams on Spotify and reached the top of a global Spotify chart.
The data points to an increasingly multilingual Indian music export market, with independent releases and regional-language artists playing a larger role in the country's presence on global streaming platforms.
Indian artists also appeared in nearly 59 million user-created playlists in India and 112 million playlists globally during 2025, according to Spotify, highlighting the role of listener-driven curation in music discovery and distribution.