A new report from Spotify highlights the significant global expansion of Indian regional music, with languages like Haryanvi, Telugu, and Tamil experiencing unprecedented growth on the streaming platform. Spotify's 2025 "Loud & Clear" report details how digital streaming is not only reshaping India's music industry but also propelling homegrown artists onto the international stage.
Regional Languages Break Barriers
The report underscores a dramatic increase in listenership for regional-language music. Haryanvi emerged as a standout, with streams surging nearly sevenfold between February 2023 and February 2026. This meteoric rise positions it as one of Spotify's fastest-growing languages.
Globally, royalties generated by Telugu music saw an increase of over 120% year-over-year. Other Indian languages also recorded substantial growth in royalties: Marathi by nearly 50%, Bengali by almost 40%, Malayalam by over 30%, Hindi by nearly 30%, and Tamil by 20%. Dhruvank Vaidya, Head of Music & Podcasts at Spotify India, noted that the platform has built the infrastructure to help artists in languages like Haryanvi and Malayalam reach, monetize, and earn from their existing audiences, which previously lacked such extensive reach. Spotify is further supporting this trend by expanding its RADAR program to Malayalam this year, following successful Punjabi and Tamil editions.
Indian Music Achieves Global Reach
The report reveals that over 40% of royalties earned by Indian artists in 2025 originated from listeners outside India, a clear indicator of the expanding international appeal of Indian music. Listeners streamed Indian artists approximately 335 billion times, accumulating over 20 billion hours of music globally.
Tamil music, in particular, has made a significant global impact. Anirudh Ravichander's "Coolie" soundtrack achieved over 100 million streams in just ten days and was featured on a Times Square billboard in New York. Other notable global successes include "Aasa Kooda" by Sai Abhyankkar and Sai Smriti, which garnered 238 million streams, and Kerala-born rapper Hanumankind's "Big Dawgs," which hit 360 million streams and climbed to No. 1 on a Spotify global chart.
Independent Artists and I-Pop Drive Innovation
Beyond established film soundtracks, independent artists are increasingly breaking through. The report found that 90% of tracks on Spotify’s Top 50 - India playlist in 2025 were by Indian artists. Furthermore, I-Pop—Indian music released independently of Bollywood soundtracks—accounted for half of Spotify’s 2025 year-end top 10 in India. On Spotify’s 2025 Global Impact List, 11 of the top 15 most exported Indian songs came directly from artists outside traditional film soundtracks, highlighting a shift in the industry landscape.
The growth of women artists is also notable, with local streams increasing 27% year-over-year in 2025, and international streams rising 7%, demonstrating a broader and more diverse talent pool gaining traction.