Over the last five years, there have been several instances of Indian independent artists scoring viral hits. However, rare are the cases in which those acts are able to convert that audience into ticket-buying fans. In this episode, we speak to a singer who has done just that, Paresh Pahuja whose 2022 single ‘Dooron Dooron’ went viral at the start of the year, and is now climbing the charts. He tells us how he went about it, and the advice he has for fellow artists who might find themselves in the same situation as him. As always, we look at the key movements on the Spotify Weekly Top Songs India chart, this time for the survey published on October 23, 2025.

Welcome to the Indian music charts podcast, a show where we breakdown the hits and allays the trends in the Indian music industry. Taylor Swift’s latest album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ is out and it has….mixed reviews. Hardcore fans and some music publications claim she hits the marks with it while on the other hand short format platforms are filled with reels about how the album doesn’t cut it compared to previous works with some claiming ‘she is too happy’ to produce the kind of music she has historically been known for.

Whatever side of the argument you fall on, you can’t deny that Taylor Swift really knows how to capture the public's imagination. So we couldn’t think of a better time to revisit this episode from 2024 where we discuss how Taylor Swift managed to crack the Indian charts, a market that is notoriously domestic first. Enjoy the episode and we will be back very soon!

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PS: Excuse the nasal voice in the intro, I have the worst cold - Akhila

These days, several artists shift between genres and enjoy parallel careers both within and without the film music industry. Some enjoy an equal amount of success in multiple fields, while for others, their pop careers don’t quite match the numbers generated by their soundtrack work. In this episode, we examine why this is the case and if things will change over time. As always, we look at the key movements on the Spotify Weekly Top Songs India chart, this time for the survey dated September 18, 2025.

As societal norms evolve and the realms of acceptable behaviour are consistently being redefined, it’s not uncommon for artists to falter. But how should they react when they’re called out? On this week’s episode, we discuss the controversy around Punjabi pop star Guru Randhawa’s music video for his hit “Azul”, how he and those involved in the making of and marketing of the track have responded to it, and how such missteps could and should be dealt with. As always, we look at the key movements on the Spotify Weekly Top Songs India chart, this time for the survey published on August 29, 2025.

We’re back after a month-long break to discuss the soundtrack of the summer…err, monsoon – Saiyaara, which has broken a number of chart records. We talk about why it’s taken off the way it has, the good and bad aspects of its success, and what it might mean for the ways film music is marketed. As always, we look at the key movements on the Spotify Weekly Top Songs India chart, this time for the survey dated August 14, 2025.

If it’s July, then it’s time for our half-year special in which we look back at the last six months on the charts, and discuss the top genres, languages and labels. We talk about why there have been fewer hits so far in 2025, what got an English-language track to No.1 after almost four years, and how the top tracks on Spotify and Apple Music have been differing more than in the recent past. As always, we look at the key movements on the Spotify Weekly Top Songs India chart, this time for the survey published on June 27, 2025.

Resources mentioned in the episode:

https://musically.com/2025/06/27/behind-the-campaign-ed-sheerans-sapphire-breaks-records-in-india/

Because of the way music is distributed and marketed these days, it’s hard to precisely define what qualifies as ‘indie’. In this episode, we attempt to lay out the degrees of ‘independence’ most releases fall under, imagine what an Indian indie music chart might look like, and discuss how far it would help or harm musicians working outside of the major label ecosystem. As always, we look at the key movements on the Spotify Weekly Top Songs India chart, this time for the survey published on June 13, 2025.

With thousands of tracks being released every week, it’s become increasingly hard for even established acts to score a chart-topping hit. It’s even harder for relatively new artists to make it all the way to No1. There are always exceptions, such as “Finding Her” by upcoming singer/songwriter Kushagra. On this week’s episode, we speak to Nikhil Dwivedi, the founder of EYP Creations—the label and management company behind the smash—to find out what it takes. As always, we look at the key movements on the Spotify Weekly Top Songs India chart, this time for the survey published on May 16, 2025.