The popularity of South Asian music in Western countries has been steadily increasing. A combination of cultural exchange, the rise of digital platforms, and the efforts of artists are bridging cultural gaps. In 2023, Diljit Dosanjh made history as the first Punjabi artist to perform at Coachella, raising the profile of South Asian music in mainstream Western festivals. His performance garnered widespread attention, with millions of views on social media platforms.
Artists like Arijit Singh have substantial followings outside India, with nearly half of his Spotify listeners based abroad. According to Chartmetric, though most of Arijit's 1.1 billion monthly views on YouTube come from India, about 34 million of those views are from the US, UK, and Canada. These countries, with large South Asian communities—estimated at around five million in both the US and UK (the latter encompassing the entire Asian diaspora) and 2.5 million in Canada—are strong contributors to his global popularity.
Audiomack is bridging this gap as well with its recent partnership with Saregama, one of India’s most popular music labels, to bring an extensive range of Bollywood and regional music to its global streaming catalog. This collaboration opens the door to thousands of iconic Indian tracks, catering especially to South Asian communities across the UK, Canada, and other regions with prominent diasporic audiences. Audiomack sees this partnership as a chance to bring a rich tapestry of Indian music to fans who may have previously struggled to find these sounds on Western platforms.
"Audiomack Desi's curation serves lean-in listeners and highlights subcultures in South Asian music, such as the burgeoning Afrodesi and Desi Electronic scenes," explains Akash Raje, South Asian music curation lead at Audiomack. "The addition of Saregama's diverse front-line and legacy catalog allows us to better curate the rich musical tapestry that is South Asian music, bringing both classic and contemporary Indian music to fans worldwide."
The streaming service, which records over 160 million Punjabi streams each month, has an established foothold in South Asian music across its user base. Major hubs in the UK—including cities like Birmingham, Manchester, and London—feature strong audiences for South Asian content, and Canada alone accounts for over 77 million of Audiomack’s monthly Punjabi streams. In India, Audiomack serves more than 200,000 active users each month, with the platform gaining traction in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and beyond.
This partnership reflects Audiomack’s ongoing commitment to culturally diverse programming, backed by their role in festivals like 5X Fest, North America’s largest Punjabi music festival. The 2024 Surrey, Canada edition saw a robust turnout of 3,000 attendees and reached 50 million viewers online, with Audiomack curating the event’s official playlist.
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