Stories, careers and news from India’s independent creative economy.
India’s music sector grew 10% in 2025, but labels’ other income rose 26%. That split explains why an artist’s career cannot be built around streams alone.
NOV 10, 2026 · 9 MIN READ
Sejal Kumar spent years building one of India's biggest YouTube channels on budget-shopping videos and fashion advice before an Obama Foundation campaign turned her into a musician. She's since released two projects and admitted she nearly quit entirely. Here's her real arc — no inflated numbers, no invented timeline.
Siddharth Pandit dropped out of A.R. Rahman's KM Music Conservatory because he wasn't making enough of his own music. Years of session keyboard work, a Bandish Bandits composer credit, and an independent album series later, he's built a career at what he calls 'the bridge between Indian and Western music.'
Wazir Patar spent years behind the camera and the mixing board — directing music videos, then producing tracks for Sidhu Moose Wala, including one of his final releases — before stepping out as an artist himself. His debut project pairs an EP with a restored 1990 Mercedes. Here's how a producer became a movement.
Hashbass spent over a decade playing bass on other people's records — for Sid Sriram, Divine, Karsh Kale, and dozens more — before he built his own stage. In January 2023, he closed Lollapalooza India's debut edition with a live concept called 'House of Hashbass.' Here's how a session player became a headline name.
Talwiinder left Tarn Taran, Punjab for the San Francisco Bay Area as a kid and built a Punjabi music career from the outside — releasing music since 2018, breaking through with a Hasan Raheem feature, and landing a debut album on Nas's Mass Appeal India. He's done all of it without ever showing his real face.
At 17, Gini turned down offers from Berklee and UNSW, moved to Mumbai with ₹10,000, and started self-producing songs on an iPad. Three years later she's a Spotify Radar artist, a Lollapalooza India performer, and the face of one of Indian indie-pop's most unusual tours.
Curated dispatches on festival commissions, day rates, and verified credits across India.