The music industry never stops. From new labels to new music, there is always something for listeners to look forward to. Billboard India helps you cut through the noise and pick the essentials you need to know to stay up to date.
1. Regional artists and independent music are driving growth on Spotify India
Spotify’s latest Loud and Clear report, unveiled in Delhi on September 1, had telling insights on where India’s music industry is heading. While royalties generated by Indian artists grew by 29% in 2025, with almost 335 billion streams, the real growth was on the regional front. Royalties for Telugu artists were up over 120% year-on-year, and Haryanvi music has gone nearly 7X in streams from February 2023 to February 2026.
What was also interesting was the growth of independent music: half of the year-end top 10 tracks were non-film, and of the 15 most exported tracks, 11 belonged to independent artists. Indian artists are also having a global moment – 40% of royalties on Indian music came from listeners outside India.
2. Olivia Dean, Limp Bizkit, Katseye to headline Lollapalooza India
After headliners like Linkin Park and Imagine Dragons, the expectations from Lollapalooza India’s fifth edition were very high. The recently announced lineup for the 2027 edition has Olivia Dean, fresh from her Grammy’s win, legacy nu-metal band Limp Bizkit, and internet pop icons Katseye as headliners. All three are making their India debut with the festival.
The Indian indie artist lineup is also stellar – with heavyweights Indian Ocean, Blackstratblues, Ricky Kej, The Manganiyar Seduction, Scribe, as well as newer sensations Anuv Jain, Aditya Gadhvi, Kayan, and Curtain Blue. The hip-hop lineup includes Swadesi, Ranj X Clifr and Yashraj.
January 2027 cannot come soon enough.
3. HYBE India broaden their talent hunt to eight more Indian cities
The company behind BTS and Katseye are now on the hunt for talent in India. HYBE India has been auditioning for a girl band since May. Starting September 2, they’ve opened the call for a final time, expanding the search to eight more Indian cities including Lucknow, Dimapur and Indore.
4. Mirzapur: The Movie becomes the first Bollywood movie soundtrack to be behind a paywall
After independent music releases like Harrdy Sandhu’s “Stuck On You” and Badshah’s “Chimna”, on August 31 Mirzapur: The Movie became the first Bollywood movie to release its soundtrack behind a paywall. As part of Universal Music Group’s ‘Hear It First’ initiative, new music is released exclusively for paying subscribers for the first 72 hours. The movie released on September 4.
