Prasoon Joshi Raises AI-Cultural Heritage Concerns as Spotify Reports 29% Rise in Indian Artist Royalties

On Tuesday, Prasoon Joshi, the newly appointed chairman of Prasar Bharati, spoke at a Spotify‑sponsored event in New Delhi about the risks that artificial intelligence poses to India’s cultural heritage, including its music and endangered languages. The same day, Spotify released its 2025 Loud & Clear report, which shows a 29 % increase in royalties paid to Indian artists in 2025.

Joshi, who has a long background in advertising and film‑certification, described AI as “human experiential data” rather than a truly artificial system. He warned that while AI can assist creators, it must not replace the human element that preserves cultural moments. “Certain languages and creations are moments of our civilization; they need special effort to save and preserve them,” he said. Joshi added that humans and AI should work in alliance without hierarchy, and that the creative economy must involve government and private partnerships to protect cultural wealth.

Spotify’s Loud & Clear report provides a detailed snapshot of how digital platforms are reshaping the Indian music market. Royalties generated by Indian artists grew 29 % year‑on‑year in 2025, with Telugu music up more than 120 %, Marathi up nearly 50 %, and Bengali up about 40 %. The report highlights Haryanvi as the fastest‑growing language on the platform, with streams increasing sevenfold from February 2023 to February 2026. Nearly 100 Haryanvi acts now rank among Spotify India’s top 5,000 artists.

The data also shows that 90 % of the tracks on Spotify India’s Daily Top 50 are by Indian artists, and that 21 % of artists earned more than ₹1 crore annually in 2025. The number of artists earning over ₹5 crore has more than doubled since 2023, a growth that is spread across languages and genres rather than concentrated at the top. In the year‑end top ten, I‑Pop songs—released outside of film soundtracks—accounted for half of the chart, with hits from Aditya Rikhari, Kushagra, Anuv Jain, Faheem Abdullah, and Jasleen Royal appearing alongside the country’s biggest film soundtracks.

These figures underscore a broader trend: while Indian film music still dominates the market, regional languages and independent pop are gaining significant traction on streaming services. Digital platforms are enabling artists from diverse linguistic backgrounds to reach national and global audiences, build sustainable livelihoods, and participate in the global creative economy.

The event highlighted a tension between the potential of AI to transform music production and the need to safeguard cultural heritage. At the same time, Spotify’s data demonstrates that the Indian creative economy is expanding rapidly, with streaming royalties and artist earnings growing across the board. The conversation points to the importance of balancing technological innovation with cultural preservation.