Spotify’s Non-Film Tracks Have Caught Indians’ Attention

(CTN News) – According to Spotify, 70-90% of Indians listen to film music, but independent, artiste-driven tracks created by singers in collaboration with labels alone are growing faster than film songs, since they are not part of movies.

A 50:50 balance between film and independent music would be ideal, but it is happening slowly. Since film music remains the barometer for success in India, there aren’t enough artists in the country, even though there is a market of 1.3 billion people.

According to Amarjit Singh Batra, Spotify India’s managing director and general manager of SAMEA (South Asia, Middle East, Africa), this country has a rich musical heritage and opportunities for user-generated content. Over 275 million people streamed the song Maan Meri Jaan by King and Saurabh Lokahnde in India in 2023, but it wasn’t part of a movie.

Batra pointed out that trends differ across languages. As an example, non-film music makes up 90% of all consumption in Punjabi, whereas movie music makes up 70-80% in Hindi, Tamil, or Telugu.

Spotify says non-film artists like AP Dhillon, King, Anuv Jain, and Kanishk Seth have become fan favorites in the past year.

Spotify for Artists is a program that shares regular data with artists about their listener base and consumption habits of their audience that follows them.

It could impact the way collaborations take place and give artists a chance to tap into other people’s audiences as well as give them insight into where the fans are located so they can hold events,” Batra said. Currently, more than 28,000 artistes from India use Spotify For Artists, which has doubled in the past year.

As film music continues to dominate Indian charts, the emerging artiste-first ecosystem allows songs to be associated with singers, rather than actors, according to Devraj Sanyal, Universal Music Group’s chairman and CEO for India and South Asia and senior vice president for strategy.

Sanyal pointed out that the on-ground shows of these names sell out both abroad and in India. A film catalogue is not available at Universal since it deals exclusively with non-film music.

It is Spotify’s 79th market globally and its fifth year of operations in the country. At launch, nearly 70% of the listeners streamed international music. Today, more than 70% turn to local music. Additionally, the consumption of Indian music has increased globally, with an 85% rise in 2023 alone. Globally, music consumption has grown by 5,300% in Malayalam, followed by Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, and Hindi.

There are also more listeners around the world for Indian artistes, most notably Ab Rahman, Alka Yagnik, Anirudh Ravichander, and AP Dhillon. Globally, Arijit Singh is the third-most followed artiste on Spotify.

Founded five years ago, Spotify has also grown Indian playlists worldwide, led by Punjabi music. The highest increase was 10,000% for Bollywood Mush, followed by Punjabi 101 at 1,400%.

Indian music listeners have traditionally not paid for what they consume, instead relying on pirated sources. In addition to curating local-language playlists, the platform offers UPI payment options and mini-price packs in sachet form.

People must become more consistent in paying for music if India is to reach the top five or ten market list. It is because Indians are willing to pay and want the best that the mindset is changing,” Batra said.

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