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.

The charts look considerably different from how they did a year ago and on this week’s episode, we’re discussing what’s led to these changes in the form of four hot takes. We talk about what’s behind pop’s recent resurgence, how the catalogue music being streamed is much younger than you would expect, and why a Haryanvi singer has managed to score ten concurrent hits! As always, we look at the key movements on the Spotify Weekly Top Songs India chart, this time for the survey published on April 24, 2025.

In a rare occurrence, three of the top five tracks on Spotify’s Weekly Top Songs chart for India are by Pakistani acts: "Jhol” by Annural Khalid and Maanu; “Maand” by Bayaan, Hasan Raheem and Rovalio; and “Pal Pal” by Afusic and AliSoomroMusic. Notably, they've been put out by the three major international labels - Warner, Sony and Universal respectively - with teams in India and MENA. It's a good time therefore to revisit the episode we published in 2023, which made a case for cross-border collaboration. Happy listening!