Regional Indian Music Finds a Global Audience
Regional-language music is gaining strong momentum on streaming platforms, with Spotify’s latest Loud & Clear report highlighting significant growth in Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Malayalam, Tamil and Haryanvi music. Telugu music royalties rose more than 120% year-on-year globally, while Haryanvi streams increased nearly sevenfold between February 2023 and February 2026, making it one of Spotify’s fastest-growing languages.
Indian music is also reaching audiences far beyond the country. More than 40% of royalties earned by Indian artists in 2025 came from listeners outside India, while Indian artists were streamed nearly 335 billion times. Tamil music has recorded notable international success, with Anirudh Ravichander’s Coolie soundtrack crossing 100 million streams in just 10 days. Hanumankind’s “Big Dawgs” also reached 360 million streams and topped a Spotify global chart.
The report further points to the growing influence of independent Indian artists beyond Bollywood. Around 90% of tracks on Spotify’s 2025 Top 50 India playlist were by Indian artists, while 11 of the 15 most exported Indian songs on Spotify’s Global Impact List came from artists outside film soundtracks. Spotify is also expanding its RADAR programme to Malayalam, signalling growing opportunities for regional and independent musicians to connect with audiences worldwide.
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