For decades, the route to becoming a music star in India usually ran through cinema. Singers became famous through playback, songs travelled on the back of films, and soundtracks dominated popular listening. That model is now being disrupted.

A new report on India’s streaming economy suggests that artist-first music — tracks created and released outside film soundtracks — is rapidly moving into the mainstream. According to Spotify’s Loud & Clear India report, half of its year-end top 10 in India in 2025 came from outside film soundtracks, while 90 per cent of tracks on its Daily Top 50 were by Indian artists.

Names such as Anuv Jain, Aditya Rikhari, Kushagra and Faheem Abdullah are emblematic of a generation building audiences around the artist rather than the movie. Rikhari’s........

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