India’s Paid Music Subscribers Could Hit 30 Million by 2028, EY-IMI Report Finds
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- EY and the Indian Music Industry released a report in Mumbai projecting India's paid music subscriber base to grow to 28–30 million by 2028, from an estimated 14 million as of December 2025, based on a poll of more than 15,000 smartphone owners.
- India's music consumption paradox: 96% of smartphone owners consume music and 80% listen more than an hour daily, yet only 38% have ever paid for music streaming, compared with 86% who have paid for video streaming.
- Global comparison in the report: India's 14 million paid subscribers trail Brazil (30M+), the US (106M), and China, which has built a base of 171 million and now ranks No. 2 globally in streaming revenue after overtaking India as recently as 2015.
- Paid subscription growth and revenue rose 37% in 2025 alone, and subscription revenue is projected to climb from roughly INR10 billion (~$111M) in 2025 to INR22 billion (~$244M) by 2028.
- Never-payer resistance remains the central barrier: 49% of Never-payers said music streaming isn't worth paying for, 36% feel it is wrong to pay for digital products when free options exist, and 42% of non-payers said YouTube already gives them all the music they need for free.
- Structural tailwinds cited include India's smartphone base growing from 584 million in 2025 to a projected 735 million by 2030, registered vehicles rising from 326 million in 2020 to over 400 million in 2025, and 65% of the population under age 35.
- Industry executives interviewed for the report put the long-term ceiling at 50–75 million paid subscriptions, with Fence-sitters — 27% of whom said paying becomes worthwhile once they use a service regularly — seen as the most convertible cohort.
Why it matters: The Indian music industry is trying to convert a 96%-reach, 80%-daily-listening audience into a paying market to close a gap with Brazil, the US, and especially China, whose 171 million paid subscribers now outpace India's 14 million — meaning record labels, DSPs, and telecom bundlers are now competing for a 50–75 million subscriber ceiling that the report's authors and CEOs believe is reachable within a decade.
