Executive Overview
The global landscape of music copyright collection is a complex ecosystem of shifting digital consumption, legal frameworks, and macroeconomic indicators. In the recently published Global Collections Report by CISAC (the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers), a striking narrative emerged regarding the Indian market. On paper, CISAC’s data suggests a minor contraction for India, sliding a couple of ranks to 23rd globally in terms of music royalty collections. The report highlights a 7.5% decrease in Euro-denominated income, falling from an all-time record high of €80 million in 2024 to €74.4 million for collections covering 2025.
However, a surface-level glance at international currency metrics obscures a robust domestic reality. According to the fiscal year 2026 annual report published by the Indian Performing Right Society (IPRS)—the primary collective management organization supplying Indian data to CISAC—actual collections within the country grew by a healthy 8.5%. Local revenue climbed to ₹804.5 crore between April 2025 and March 2026.
The discrepancy between the two figures highlights a familiar hurdle in international finance: currency depreciation. During the period between March 2025 and March 2026, the Indian rupee (INR) plunged significantly against the Euro, dropping from approximately ₹93.5 per Euro to roughly ₹108 per Euro. Consequently, while Indian creators and rightsholders experienced absolute growth in domestic currency terms, the translation to Euros painted a picture of decline.
Beyond the currency exchange rates, the data reveals vital structural shifts within the Indian music licensing market. While digital streaming remains the undisputed heavyweight of revenue generation—accounting for nearly three-quarters of total collections—emerging sectors such as television broadcasting and public performance are rapidly scaling up. Driven by aggressive licensing efforts, revised tariffs, and crucial back-payment recoveries, India’s collective rights management sector is undergoing a profound evolution, balancing high-volume digital consumption with the formalization of traditional and broadcast markets.
Detailed Chronology and Financial Breakdown
To fully understand the mechanics behind India’s royalty collections for the 2025–2026 cycle, one must trace the trajectory of income streams across various entertainment verticals. The data released by IPRS for FY2026, when contextualized against CISAC’s global metrics, outlines a year marked by high-stakes back-payments, regulatory updates, and stabilization following anomalous previous-year spikes.
The Streaming Realignment
Digital streaming continues to be the bedrock of the Indian music economy, capturing 72% of IPRS’s total revenue for FY2026. However, absolute earnings in this segment dipped slightly to ₹578 crore, down from ₹602.4 crore in the preceding fiscal period.
This reduction is not indicative of an overall decline in music consumption or platform engagement; rather, it is an artifact of high-base comparisons. The previous fiscal year was artificially inflated by a significant back-payment windfall stemming from Airtel’s now-shuttered music streaming platform, Wynk Music. That single settlement had catalyzed a massive 56.7% surge in digital collections at the time. With the streaming market now stabilizing after the closure and consolidation of certain domestic players, collections have settled into a more organic, albeit slightly lower, baseline trajectory.
The Television Royalty Surge
If streaming experienced a mild normalization, the television sector provided an explosive counter-balance. Royalties collected from television broadcasters skyrocketed by an astonishing 216%, leaping from ₹16.5 crore to ₹52.1 crore in FY2026.
According to the IPRS report, this phenomenal leap was fueled by major back-payments secured from a prominent broadcaster, covering licensing arrears stretching across two separate financial years. This windfall not only bolstered domestic totals but also propelled India to the top of the growth charts within the "live and background music" and broadcast segments across the entire Asia-Pacific region, according to CISAC’s regional analysis.
Public Performance and Licensing Expansion
Another stellar performer in the FY2026 report was the public performance sector. Income generated from public venues, events, hotels, malls, and commercial establishments surged by 48.2%, moving from ₹101.7 crore to ₹150.8 crore.
CISAC’s analysis attributes this substantial growth to two primary drivers: an aggressive, systematic expansion in the number of commercial outlets being brought under the licensing net, and the implementation of a revised general public performance tariff that officially took effect on April 1, 2025. This tariff overhaul allowed IPRS to capture fairer market value from businesses utilizing music for commercial enhancement, bridging a long-standing gap in copyright enforcement across India’s vast retail and hospitality sectors.
Supporting Context and Metrics: The Currency Factor
The macroeconomic narrative of this reporting cycle centers heavily on foreign exchange volatility. For international bodies like CISAC, standardizing global collections into a single baseline currency—predominantly the Euro or the US Dollar—is essential for cross-border comparisons. However, when dealing with emerging economies experiencing rapid domestic growth alongside currency depreciation, this methodology can inadvertently distort local realities.
[March 2025: €1 = ~₹93.5] -----( Rupee Depreciation )-----> [March 2026: €1 = ~₹108]
| |
v v
IPRS Local Collections: ₹741.4 Cr* IPRS Local Collections: ₹804.5 Cr (+8.5%)
CISAC Reported Value: €80.0M (All-Time High) CISAC Reported Value: €74.4M (-7.5%)*Estimated baseline derived from proportional comparisons.
As detailed in the financial disclosures, the Indian rupee underwent a sharp devaluation against the Euro over the twelve-month reporting period. In March 2025, one Euro traded at roughly ₹93.5. By March 2026, that figure had climbed to approximately ₹108 per Euro.
When IPRS’s domestic collections of ₹804.5 crore for FY2026 are converted using the closing exchange rate, the resulting figure translates to approximately €74.4 million. Conversely, the previous year’s collections, when converted at the stronger historical exchange rate, yielded the record €80 million reported by CISAC.
Therefore, India’s slide from No. 21 to No. 23 in the global music royalty rankings is purely an artifact of currency conversion mathematics rather than a contraction of the Indian music industry’s revenue-generating capacity. Domestically, creators represented by IPRS saw an 8.5% increase in nominal income, demonstrating that copyright enforcement and monetization within the country are continuing on an upward trajectory.
Official Insights and Industry Implications
The divergence between local growth and international metric reporting opens up a broader conversation regarding the maturity of India’s copyright infrastructure. Industry stakeholders and legal experts point out that while absolute numbers are moving in the right direction, the per-capita monetization of music in India still lags significantly behind Western markets, leaving immense room for structural expansion.
The Shift Toward Structured Compliance
The success observed in the public performance and television sectors during FY2026 underscores a concerted push by collective management organizations to plug revenue leaks. Historically, licensing compliance across Indian retail, hospitality, and regional broadcasting was notoriously fragmented, hampered by complex jurisdictional challenges and widespread resistance from commercial users.
However, the introduction of the revised general public performance tariffs in April 2025 indicates a more assertive stance by rights holders. By streamlining tariff structures and scaling up enforcement teams, IPRS has demonstrated that legal frameworks, when backed by persistent on-ground enforcement, can yield dramatic year-on-year revenue expansions.
The Digital Paradox
The dominance of streaming—commanding 72% of total revenue—highlights both the immense popularity of digital audio platforms in India and the vulnerability of relying too heavily on a single sector. With hundreds of millions of active users consuming music via ad-supported and subscription tiers, India remains one of the largest streaming markets in the world by volume. Yet, the average revenue per user (ARPU) for digital music in India remains exceptionally low compared to Europe or North America.
The adjustment seen in FY2026—following the exceptional Wynk Music back-payment windfall of the previous year—serves as a reminder that the Indian streaming market is still maturing. As major domestic and international platforms adjust their monetization models, long-term stability will depend on securing sustainable, recurring subscription yields rather than relying on retroactive legal settlements.
Future Outlook: Navigating the Next Decade of Indian Copyright
As India looks beyond the fiscal year 2026 and toward the remainder of the decade, the outlook for music copyright collections is cautiously optimistic, underpinned by structural reforms and demographic advantages.
1. Diversification Beyond Streaming
While digital platforms will undoubtedly remain the primary engine of music consumption, the explosive growth in television broadcasting (up 216%) and public performance (up 48.2%) signals a healthy diversification of revenue streams. For a long-term, resilient copyright economy, reducing dependency on digital streaming giants is vital. The ongoing formalization of retail licensing, live events, gyms, restaurants, and hospitality chains will continue to inject crucial supplementary income into the pockets of songwriters, composers, and publishers.
2. Macroeconomic Pressures and Currency Resilience
Currency volatility will likely remain a persistent variable for international reporting bodies like CISAC. For Indian collecting societies to improve their standing in global Euro- or Dollar-denominated indices, domestic growth rates will need to consistently outpace the rate of currency depreciation. This places added pressure on IPRS and other rights organizations to accelerate their collection efficiencies and expand their market penetration.
3. Legal and Regulatory Evolution
The enforcement of copyright law in India is entering a new era of judicial scrutiny. As courts increasingly recognize the rights of authors and composers—particularly following landmark amendments to the Copyright Act in previous years—rights holders are better positioned to negotiate fair compensation. Future growth will heavily depend on the judiciary’s continued strictness in enforcing compliance, penalizing copyright infringement, and ensuring that digital platforms and broadcasters remit fair royalties without prolonged litigation delays.
Ultimately, while currency fluctuations may temporarily obscure India’s progress on global scoreboards, the domestic metrics tell a story of undeniable growth. With an 8.5% rise in local collections, a booming public performance sector, and aggressive television licensing recoveries, India’s music copyright economy is steadily laying the financial foundation required to support its vast and culturally rich community of creators.
