The slowdown in India’s music market has slowed income development at Mumbai-headquartered Suggestions Music, however the distinguished label predicts robust momentum forward because it expects stay music and paid streaming proceed to develop within the South Asian market.
Suggestions reported 11% year-over-year income development in Q2 of its fiscal 2026 (calendar Q3 2025), which ended on September 30, reaching INR ₹892 million, or USD $10.2 million on the common change fee for the quarter.
That represents a slowdown for Suggestions, which recorded 19.1% YoY income development in Q1 of fiscal 2026, and in the identical quarter a yr earlier, the corporate reported 32% YoY income development.
Suggestions Chairman and Managing Director Kumar Taurani famous that regardless of a “difficult business surroundings,” the corporate’s income nonetheless grew round 15% YoY within the first half.
“Over the long term, we count on robust enterprise momentum, supported by sustained paid subscriber development, starting of advert income sharing from short-form content material platforms, and strong enlargement within the public efficiency section,” Taurani stated in an announcement.
India has seen a slowdown within the development of its music market that’s surprisingly steep for a rustic identified to have been among the many fastest-growing music markets in recent times.
In accordance with IFPI information, recorded music revenues within the nation grew at an anemic 3% YoY tempo in 2024. The nation stays effectively behind many different markets in paid subscription adoption, with simply 20 million of India’s 192 million music streaming subscribers paying for an account, or barely above 10%.
Suggestions’ Working EBITDA for the quarter got here in at INR ₹678 million ($7.8 million), up 14% YoY. Working EBITDA margin expanded to 67.8%, from 59.5% a yr earlier.
After-tax revenue got here in at INR ₹532 million ($6.1 million), up 10% YoY, whereas the after-tax revenue margin stayed regular at 59.6%.
“Over the long term, we count on robust enterprise momentum, supported by sustained paid subscriber development, starting of advert income sharing from short-form content material platforms, and strong enlargement within the public efficiency section.”
Kumar Taurani, Suggestions Music
The corporate, which boasts a catalog of 34,000 “must-have hits,” together with some going again to its early days as a distinguished label for Bollywood film music, stated it launched 133 songs throughout the quarter, of which 76 had been movie tracks and 57 had been non-film tracks. Suggestions highlighted Telugu’s Vibe Undi as one in every of its greatest hits of the quarter.
Suggestions stated its YouTube channels’ subscriber base grew to 134 million, up from 108 million in the identical quarter a yr earlier.
The corporate introduced a second dividend of INR ₹4 ($0.045) per share this fiscal yr, bringing the overall divided payout to INR ₹1.023 billion ($11.7 million).
The corporate’s earnings numbers replicate a rising shopper urge for food for music in India – however slowing income development.
On the All About Music convention in Mumbai this previous summer time, IFPI CEO Victoria Oakley urged India’s music business to deal with the challenges that face it regardless of its “extraordinary potential” to drive the subsequent wave of world music development.
Oakley pointed to a number of dangers threatening sustainable development, together with the misuse of generative AI, streaming fraud, and the overwhelming dominance of free, ad-supported streaming over paid subscriptions.
“These dangers are actual,” Oakley stated. “Music has value, and paying for it sustains the artists and cultures we love. The selections we make now will form the subsequent decade of music.”
For its half, Suggestions Music has been extending and increasing its partnerships with music majors internationally, together with a current enlargement of its publishing partnership with Sony Music Publishing. The deal entails administration, synchronization, and expanded promotion of Suggestions Music’s repertoire throughout international digital platforms.
Suggestions additionally final yr prolonged its distribution cope with Warner Music India and ADA.
The corporate has additionally been increasing its enterprise via acquisitions, most not too long ago shopping for the whole music catalog of Studio Radha, which added greater than 4,000 Gujarati and Kutchi tracks to Suggestions’ portfolio.
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