From a steady stream of Arijit Singh songs to a growing interest with podcasts, six months of Spotify streaming data shows India is a nation of audiophiles. In early March this year, Spotify shared what the first million users were streaming in the week after it launched for India’s millions of music and podcast lovers. There we saw a surge in streams of pop hits from around the world. But after six months, Spotify’s listeners in India are showing plenty of love for music from home as well as abroad—plus a few other notable trends.
One thing that it isn’t in doubt: music plays a starring role in all aspects of Indian life. We saw this in June with a deep dive into the mood-based playlists users stream throughout the day on Spotify. And today we can see the variation across regions and where tastes transcend India’s disparate cultures.
From Bollywood stars to pan-Asian breakouts to global sensations (yes, BTS is beloved everywhere), here are the artists, playlists, podcasts, and noteworthy trends from Spotify’s first half-year in India.
Additionally….
Here’s the second half to the rankings from Spotify’s first 6 months in India |
# |
Artist |
Genres |
Playlists |
Podcasts |
6 |
Shreya Ghoshal |
Dance Pop |
Bollywood Romance |
The GaryVee Audio Experience |
7 |
Dhvani Bhanushali |
Post-teen Pop |
Bollywood Mush |
The Mindset & Motivation Podcast |
8 |
A.R. Rahman |
Pop Rap |
Bollywood Butter |
Let’s Not Meet: A True Horror Podcast |
9 |
Shawn Mendes |
Tropical House |
All Out 10s |
TED Talks Daily |
10 |
Post Malone |
EDM |
Top Hits Punjabi |
Impaulsive with Logan Paul |
Since its launch in India, Spotify has been a part of the industry and consumer conversations for its diverse range of music, playlists, and podcasts. In the week after our launch, we looked at what the
first million users were streaming; there was a surge in streams of pop hits, and a good mix of local and global artists and playlists. In June, we saw that music plays a starring role in all aspects of Indian life with a deep dive into the mood-based playlists users stream throughout the day.
Also… here’s a look at what kept Indians cool this summer
Simply put, ‘India has fallen in love’ with mush Bollywood songs dominating the charts in the country.
The Kabir Singh soundtrack appeared in six of ten of India’s most-streamed songs. It includes
Sachet Tandon’s “
Bekhayali”, which also ended up at #1 on Spotify’s Global Viral 50 Chart when it released. Other summer hits in the country include “
Duniyaa” by
Abhijit Vaghani,
Akhil,
Bob &
Dhvani Bhanushali, “
O Saki Saki” by
B Praak,
Neha Kakkar &
Tulsi Kumar and “
Ve Maahi” by
Arijit Singh &
Asees Kaur.
At #1 in India’s top songs of the summer, Shawn Mendes and
Camila Cabello turned up the heat with their second collaboration, “
Señorita,” which is also Spotify’s most-streamed global song of the summer for 2019. With more than 565 million streams since its June release, the hit track has simmered atop Spotify’s Global Top 50 chart for eight straight weeks.
(Watch Shawn Mendes’ reaction to “Señorita” being the top global song of the summer on Spotify’s For the Record).
Most streamed songs in India (from June 1 - August 20, 2019)
- “Señorita” - Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes
- “Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage” (From "Kabir Singh") - Arijit Singh, Mithoon
- “Bekhayali” (From "Kabir Singh") - Sachet Tandon
- “Ve Maahi” - Arijit Singh, Asees Kaur
- “Mere Sohneya” (From “Kabir Singh”) - Parampara Thakur, Sachet Tandon, Sachet-Parampara
- “Tera Ban Jaunga” (From "Kabir Singh") - Akhil Sachdeva, Tulsi Kumar
- “Duniyaa” (From "Luka Chuppi") - Abhijit Vaghani, Akhil, Bob, Dhvani Bhanushali
- “Kaise Hua” (From "Kabir Singh") - Vishal Mishra
- “O Saki Saki” (From "Batla House") - O Saki Saki (From "Batla House")
- “Bekhayali” (Arijit Singh Version) [From "Kabir Singh"] - Arijit Singh, Sachet-Parampara
Most streamed songs of the summer globally (from June 1 - August 20, 2019):
- “Señorita” - Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes
- “I Don't Care (with Justin Bieber)” - Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber
- “bad guy” - Billie Eilish
- “Old Town Road - Remix” - Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus
- “Callaita” - Bad Bunny, Tainy
- “Beautiful People (feat. Khalid)” - Ed Sheeran, Khalid
- “Otro Trago” - Darell, Sech
- “Someone You Loved” - Lewis Capaldi
- “Goodbyes (Feat. Young Thug)” - Post Malone, Young Thug
- “Sunflower - Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” - Post Malone, Swae Lee
- “Ransom” - Lil Tecca
- “Soltera - Remix” - Bad Bunny, Daddy Yankee, Lunay
- “If I Can't Have You” - Shawn Mendes
- “Money In The Grave (Drake ft. Rick Ross)” - Drake, Rick Ross
- “Con Calma” - Daddy Yankee, Snow
- “Piece Of Your Heart” - Goodboys, MEDUZA
- “Truth Hurts” - Lizzo
- “Never Really Over” - Katy Perry
- “Loco Contigo” (feat. J. Balvin & Tyga) - DJ Snake, J Balvin, Tyga
- “Panini” - Lil Nas X