Gaana Recap 2025 Highlights Surge In Regional Music And Paid Listener Engagement

Gaana’s 2025 listening recap points to a clear shift in how Indian audiences are engaging with music,spending more time on the platform, discovering regional sounds more deeply, and returning repeatedly to familiar artists and genres.

As a subscription-only service, Gaana analyses listening behaviour exclusively from paying users, internally referred to as ‘TrueFans’. The platform notes that increased listening time per user through the year signals more intentional and sustained consumption, moving away from passive or background listening.

Regional languages lead growth

Regional music emerged as the strongest growth driver in 2025. Assamese was the fastest-growing language on the platform, registering a 42% rise in time spent listening, largely powered by audiences in eastern India.

Punjabi pop continued to command strong repeat engagement, with tracks such as Azul by Guru Randhawa and For A Reason by Karan Aujla and Ikky drawing consistent listens. Bhojpuri music maintained high listener loyalty, led by popular tracks including Aaho Raja, Dilwa Le Ja Rumaal Me and Arrah Ke Othlali by Pawan Singh. Haryanvi music sustained its upward momentum through Masoom Sharma’s tracks 2 Khatole, Teri Ramjhol Bole Gi and Raat Ke Shikari.

Marathi listening remained stable, with Sanju Rathod’s Shaky and Sundari continuing to perform strongly. In southern languages, Telugu listeners gravitated towards Devi Sri Prasad’s Bujji Thalli and Viral Vayyari, while Tamil audiences repeatedly streamed Oorum Blood, Monica and Pathikichu. Malayalam listeners returned consistently to Neeye Punchiri from Lokah, along with Minnalvala and Jaalakaari.

Bollywood and indie stay relevant

Hindi film music recorded a 25% increase in time spent listening. Saiyaara emerged as one of the most-streamed tracks of the year, followed by Tu Hain Toh Main Hoon from Skyforce. Independent music also saw a 14% rise in engagement, with artists such as Kushagra (Finding Her), Aditya Rikhari (Sahiba) and Anuv Jain (Jo Tum Mere Ho) maintaining steady listener interest.

Genre shifts and catalogue depth

Pop was the fastest-growing genre on Gaana in 2025, rising by 48%, largely driven by younger listeners. Indian-rooted genres, including devotional and culturally anchored music, also saw sustained growth.

Listening data revealed parallel consumption patterns across eras. While music from the 2020s recorded the highest growth, tracks from earlier decades remained stable, highlighting a balance between nostalgia-driven listening and discovery of newer releases.

Artists and loyalty-driven listening

In Hindi music, Arijit Singh remained one of the most-returned-to artists, alongside Pritam and Alka Yagnik. Reflecting on the response to Saiyaara, Faheem Abdullah said, “The love that I have received for Saiyaara is beyond words. Knowing that the song is the most listened to on Gaana, where every play comes from a paying listener, makes this recognition even more meaningful.”

Tanishk Bagchi added, “It’s always special when a song connects the way Saiyaara has. I’m grateful to everyone who listened on Gaana this year and happy to see it become one of the most played tracks on the platform.”

In Marathi, Sanju Rathod and Sonali Sonawane remained among the most-streamed artists. Sonawane said, “Your support is the reason I’m among the most-streamed artists in Marathi on Gaana year after year. This year has been incredible, and I promise to share even better music next year.”

Aditya Gadhvi led Gujarati listening, with Meetha Khaara and Khalasi driving engagement. “Seeing these songs travel so far makes me incredibly proud of Gujarati music and the love listeners continue to show it,” he said.

Tamil listening reflected a blend of contemporary and legacy appeal, with Anirudh Ravichander featuring alongside S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and A. R. Rahman. In Kannada, Sonu Nigam emerged as the most-streamed artist. “To know that I’m the most listened-to artiste in Kannada on Gaana pleases me to no end,” he said, expressing gratitude to listeners and the platform.

Punjabi listening remained anchored by Karan Aujla and Diljit Dosanjh, with Shubh also driving repeat engagement. Bhojpuri music continued to be loyalty-led, powered by Shilpi Raj, Pawan Singh and Khesarilal Yadav. Haryanvi music maintained momentum through Masoom Sharma, Ashu Twinkle and Dhanda Nyoliwala, while Assamese listening reflected strong regional affinity for artists such as Zubeen Garg, Neel Akash and Deeplina Deka.

Internationally, Justin Bieber, Alan Walker and Ed Sheeran remained the most-streamed English-language artists on Gaana.

A year of deeper, localised listening

According to Gaana, 2025 underscored a broader move towards localised discovery, devotional content and independent music across languages,supported by longer listening sessions and repeat engagement from its paid user base.