India's paid music market to hit high notes in next 5 yrs: Universal Music

Universal Music India expects the country to emerge as a major paid music market within five years as subscriptions rise and the industry pivots away from free streaming

With the music industry pushing for growth in the paid subscription segment, Universal Music India anticipates that the Indian market will mature, potentially becoming a highly impactful paid market for music over the next five years.

 

“India has approximately 15 million people who pay for music, in a country that has over a billion and half people. What half a cup of coffee costs today can buy you a Spotify or an Apple Music or a YouTube Music, or any other subscription, which can give you 100 per cent legitimate and fully licensed paid music,” said Devraj Sanyal, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), India and South Asia at Universal Music Group. “It’s a matter of time, and I believe that we are going to be a highly impactful paid market in the next five years,” added Sanyal, who is also senior vice president, strategy, Africa, Middle East, and South Asia.

 

This comes after the Indian music industry saw a drop of two per cent in revenue in 2024, as digital streamers pushed to disincentivise free music consumption and a fall in streaming royalty rates. While this led to paid subscriptions growing from 8 million to 10.5 million in 2024, it reduced the overall audience from 185 million to 175 million, according to a report by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and EY.

 

With India having around a billion smartphones, SIM cards, and the cheapest data in the world, there is “enormous headroom and growth opportunity” for the industry at large, and also by extension to all the businesses of Universal Music India, Sanyal said.

 

“India is a massively important market for us globally. We are going to invest heavily in all the businesses here, and we are extremely serious about this market, which is one of the most exciting emerging markets in the region,” he emphasised. Investments, irrespective of size, or scale, are not going to deter the company from being ambitious and adventurous into the future, as the music and music-led entertainment firm progresses into a market that can fully embrace the subscription economy, he added.

 

Combining all business segments, including talent management, music and brands agency, merchandising, fandom, film soundtrack business, independent and non-film space, regional music, publishing, and distribution businesses, it anticipates having double-digit growth in the coming years. Sanyal added that its music and brand vertical, Universal Music Group for Brands  (UMGB), currently ranks fourth globally, having worked with brands spanning fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), as well as automobile and telecom.

 

Additionally, Universal Music India re-entered the film soundtrack segment in 2025 after several years, signing a long-term partnership with Maddock Films. Under this partnership, the company has already entered mainstream Bollywood with two films — Sidharth Malhotra starrer Param Sundari and Thamma, a part of Maddock Films’ horror-comedy universe.

 

“We are going after strategic long-term relationships and not short-term single film deals. Apart from the Maddock Films deal that we announced in August, we are about to announce several large, long-term strategic partnerships in the near future, which are important for the future of Indian storytelling,” he added.

 

This follows Saregama India’s investment in Bhansali Productions, under which, the latter will exclusively sell all its future film music to Saregama India. The move is expected to strengthen Saregama’s presence in the music licensing segment.