The music industry in India is different from the music industry in most other parts of the world. A major reason for this is the historical and ongoing tie between the Indian music business and the Indian film industry (especially Bollywood and regional cinema). Indian film and music companies frequently co-finance projects, where success in one directly boosts the other. Historically, the legitimate Indian music market struggled with physical piracy and unauthorized cassette or CD duplication. Today, the market has pivoted heavily toward licensed digital streaming platforms, reaching a total market value of $677 million in 2025.
New streams of revenue and modern digital delivery platforms have unlocked significant growth for music rights holders in India. Digital audio streaming (led by Spotify, JioSaavn, Gaana, and YouTube Music), digital licensing, performance rights, and live concerts now generate the vast majority of total industry revenues. Over 178 million people stream music online in India, with paid subscriptions reaching 14.4 million subscribers in 2025.
Gramco was taken over by the RPG group a division of the parent company EMI in 1985 and the name changed to Saregama India in 2000. The Indian music industry is fragmented but has experienced growth of late where the international music industry’s revenue and profits have been contracting. Since the late 1960’s, the Indian government has passed laws attempting to stem the flow of pirated material, which has in some ways bolstered the industry but in an industry closely tied to Hindi music, revenues and profits are slow in coming.
Last updated: August 4th, 2026
