India’s music income is exploding in Performing Rights
Image credit: Naveed Ahmed
While India’s overall recorded music growth has been slow, the country’s Performing Rights royalties are experiencing an unprecedented surge.
India’s burgeoning music industry has just announced their latest huge successes. The Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS) have revealed an income of Rs700 crores for the 2024-25 fiscal year (roughly $81.5 million USD at the time of writing).
The numbers are good, but what is most impressive about them is that it represents growth of 42% from the previous fiscal year. What’s more, the impressive growth shines a positive light on India’s music industry after EY India and FICCI’s report showed drops in the country’s music revenue in 2024.
So, why are Performance Royalties shooting up against the country’s larger market trends? The IPRS says that the growth was “mainly due to exceptional growth in streaming collections”, which have helped to push India to 23rd in CISAC’s global rankings of collecting societies.
The streaming collections have been helped by international services like YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music operating in the region. Despite the popularity of local streaming services like Gaana and JioSaavn, they haven’t yet signed deals with the IPRS.
In fact, two of India’s local services – Wynk Music and Hungama – have shut down in the last year. These service shutdowns, alongside restrictions on free streaming offerings, have helped to slow down India’s recorded music revenues in the last year.
Whilst the growth is incredible, CISAC report that India’s Performance Royalties are “well below its potential for such a large market”. CISAC add, currently: “[The] main problem lies in the low penetration of paid or premium streaming services.”
What are Performing Rights royalties?
Performing Rights royalties differ from the royalties generated by a sound recording, like a stream on a song. They are generated by the actual playing (or performance) of a composition.
So, they are royalties that are due to the composer or writer of a piece of music when their composition is played or performed. This could be plays on the radio, streams played in a public space, or covers of a song played live at a gig.
You do, however, still earn Performance Royalties for streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music, as well as radio-like streaming services such as Pandora Radio and SiriusXM.
It isn’t straightforward, so you can read our more in-depth guide to understand these types of royalties here:
How can artists earn their Performance Royalties?
Performance Royalties are an important part of an artist’s income. However, they are often too easily forgotten or overlooked.
IPRS chairman and Indian screenwriter, lyricist, and poet Javed Akhtar said: “The significant rise in royalty collection is more than a number – it is a reflection of growing awareness around intellectual property, fair value for creative work, and the need for compliance across the industry.”
With the growth and potential of India’s Performing Rights revenues, it’s a great time to understand how artists can ensure they are earning their rightfully owed Performance Royalties.
Artists can collect 50% of their Performing Rights royalties with a music publisher, like RouteNote Publishing. Our publishing arm can collect 50% of your Performance Royalties and 100% of Mechanical Royalties, YouTube Micro-Synchronisation, and Neighbouring Rights.
Find out how to join RouteNote Publishing here.
To ensure you collect 100% of your royalties, it is recommended that you sign up to a PRO – like the IPRS. Depending on where you are based, different PROs will be responsible for your market so ensure you find the correct PRO for your market.
Find out more about PROs and what they do here: routenote.com/blog/what-is-a-pro/