The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry released Engaging with Music 2021, measuring how 43,000 people across 21 countries including India engage with music.
Much like India’s rich and varied cultures, music engagement in the country is also diverse. Local genres shone and the emergence of newer formats such as short form video apps –also formed a significant part of the music mix. Indians spent 21.9 hours listening to music each week.
94% of the people participated in the survey said that they engaged with music through licensed audio streaming services (paid and free). 96% said music helped with their emotional wellbeing 96% during the pandemic. 67% used a paid streaming service (38% in 2019).
The report states that 74% of the time spent on short-form video apps involved music-dependent videos such as lip-syncing. 60 % used a short-form video app. 42% watched a music livestream in the last twelve months. The report claims that 68% used unlicensed or illegal ways to listen to music. 33% discovered music on TV shows or in films, a higher figure than in any other country.
Bollywood songs topped the top genre list followed by Bollywood coming of age (80s, 90s). Bollywood Retro (50’s, 60’s, 70’s) claimed the third spot in the Top 10 genre listening list.
On the global level, as per the report, fans make their own listening choices thanks to streaming. The main reasons fans gave for their engagement with streaming were being alistble to choose their favourite songs, artists, and their own playlists. 68% searched for specific songs and 62% listened to playlists they created more than once a week.
Around the world, music fans are enjoying a rich and diverse mix of genres. In addition to well-known popular genres, well over 300 different genres were named by at least one person in the 43,000-person study as music they typically listen to, including gqom, axé, and hokkien song. This reflects the rich, diverse, and highly competitive music landscape fans now enjoy around the world.
Time spent listening to music is up globally. Fans are enjoying more music today than ever before, on average spending 18.4 hours a week listening to music (up from 18 hours in 2019) – the equivalent of listening to 368 three-minute tracks.
