Spotifys 2025 Report Shows 29% Rise in Indian Artist Royalties, Telugu Music Leads Growth

Spotify’s latest Loud & Clear report for 2025 paints a picture of a thriving Indian music scene that is increasingly reaching listeners worldwide. The platform announced that royalties earned by Indian artists jumped 29% year‑on‑year, a gain that comes on the back of more than $11 billion in global music royalties paid out in 2025 and a cumulative payout of nearly $70 billion since Spotify’s launch.

The surge is not confined to a single language. Telugu‑language royalties leapt over 120% globally, while Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Hindi and Tamil saw increases of nearly 50%, 40%, 30%, 30% and 20% respectively. Spotify’s own data shows that 40% of the royalties earned by Indian creators in 2025 were generated by listeners outside India.

Streaming activity mirrored the revenue rise. Indian artists logged 335 billion plays on Spotify, translating to more than 20 billion listening hours. Global listeners discovered an Indian artist they had never heard before 12.8 billion times—a 14% uptick from 2024. Dhruvank Vaidya, Spotify’s Head of Music & Podcast for India, attributed the jump to the platform’s discovery tools, which help artists reach audiences beyond their initial release.

The number of high‑earning artists also grew. Those pulling in more than ₹1 crore annually rose 21% year‑on‑year, and the cohort earning over ₹5 crore more than doubled since 2023.

On Spotify India’s Daily Top 50, 90% of the tracks in 2025 were performed by Indian artists. Half of the year‑end top 10 songs came from independent releases rather than film soundtracks, featuring artists such as Aditya Rikhari, Kushagra, Anuv Jain, Faheem Abdullah and Jasleen Royal. Rikhari’s single “Sahiba” held the No. 1 spot for more than 11 consecutive weeks.

Regional genres experienced a parallel boom. Haryanvi music streams surged almost sevenfold between February 2023 and February 2026, and nearly 100 Haryanvi acts now rank within Spotify India’s top 5,000 artists. The platform’s RADAR programme, which spotlights emerging talent, expanded to Malayalam after earlier launches in Punjabi and Tamil.

Women artists also reaped the benefits of wider reach. Local streams of Indian female musicians grew 27% year‑on‑year in 2025, while international streams climbed 7%. Jasmine Sandlas, who featured on the 2025 film album Dhurandhar, peaked at No. 3 on Spotify’s Global Top 200.

Beyond India, regional songs are breaking international charts. Anirudh Ravichander’s Tamil album Coolie crossed 100 million Spotify streams within ten days. Sai Abhyankar and Sai Smriti’s Tamil single “Aasa Kooda” has amassed 238 million streams, and Kerala‑born rapper Hanumankind’s “Big Dawgs” reached 360 million streams, topping a Spotify global chart.

The Global Impact List underscores this trend, with 11 of the top 15 Indian tracks in 2025 being artist‑first releases that span languages and genres—highlighting Spotify’s role in elevating independent and regional music.

Spotify’s 2025 Loud & Clear report signals that streaming is reshaping India’s music economy, enabling artists to build audiences and earn royalties without relying solely on traditional gatekeepers. The data point to a broadening market, with growing international demand for Indian music across multiple languages. The next quarterly report is expected to shed further light on how these trends will evolve in 2026.