Spotify launched in Pakistan a year ago. Since its launch, it has had quite a positive impact on the music scene in the country.
Tell me more: Pakistanis love music, but artists have struggled to make money off their music.
Record labels have copyright claims over songs, and they send copyright infringement notices to artists who have legal ownership over their music. So, artists usually do not get any royalties for the music they make.
Piracy is also an issue in Pakistan.
It’s expensive to download legal music, so people pirate it or download an illegal version.
Spotify is changing these trends to some extent.
It provides artists with a way to monetize their work, and it may also help curb the country’s piracy problems. And users can legally listen to music as free or paying subscribers.
With Spotify’s algorithms and statistics, artists can gauge their growth and audience reach compared to other artists.
The app did great for the proliferation of music in the country.
There was a lot of new music created during the pandemic, and over 19,590 songs have been uploaded from Pakistani creators over the past year.
You should know: Spotify has released statistics about Pakistani music’s global reach on its first anniversary in Pakistan.
The top countries that listen to Pakistani music are India, the USA, and the UK.
The top streamed artist was Atif Aslam. Followed by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Momina Mustehsan, and Bilal Saeed.
The top 10 most-streamed songs include:
- Baari & Uchiyaan Deewaraan by Bilal Saeed and Momina Mustehsan
- Kadi Te Has Bol, Jeena Jeena, & Tere Sang Yaara by Atif Aslam
- Gumaan, Don’t Mind, & Afsanay by Young Stunners
- Awari by Momina Mustehsan and Adnan Dhool
By the numbers: In the last year:
- 11% of the indie genre was streamed in the US (growth of more than 150% globally)
- A total of 23% of the electronic genre was streamed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany (an increase of 223% globally).
- More than 63% of the hip hop genre was streamed internationally (70% growth in global streams)
Before you go: The music scene in the country is making a comeback. And Spotify can help provide up-and-coming artists with a platform to share their music with the world while making money from their craft.
