Independent music, artistes drive audio streaming in 2023
While film music continues to top charts, independent artistes who bring out their own singles or albums, often backed by top music labels or streaming platforms, saw much traction in 2023. Languages like Bhojpuri, Tamil and Telugu are emerging as leaders in the independent music scene, other than Hindi, while names like King, Darshan and AP Dhillon have developed a loyal fan following. For these new artistes, however, getting discovered in an overwhelmingly crowded music milieu remains a great challenge.
“Over the last few years, we have seen a rapid growth in music that is coming from beyond the film industry. The widespread availability of digital-streaming platforms and tools has made it easier for artistes to create and distribute their music even without major record labels. There has also been a shift in the perception of independent music in India, with more acceptance and recognition from mainstream media and the industry," a Spotify official, who requested anonymity, said.
King’s ‘Maan Meri Jaan’—which is not film music—was the most streamed song in India in 2023, based on Spotify Wrapped data. The Swedish audio-streaming platform had launched a global emerging-artists program, RADAR, in India over three years ago. On an average, RADAR India artists have seen a 20-25% increase in followers after being playlisted, while singers such as Akshath, Tanmaya Bhatnagar, and Naalayak have seen a growth of over 30% in streams after being featured on RADAR, the Spotify official pointed out.
Indie India, a playlist on Spotify, grew by 200% over 2022, adding 250,000 new followers, followed by a further addition of over 250,000 new followers in 2023. Other streaming platforms also throw up encouraging data. About 45-48% of
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