Investors, labels buy into growing South Asian music business in U.S.

When music strategist Anjula Acharia began launching superstar actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas into Hollywood in the early 2000s, her label partner Jimmy Iovine — the name behind pop sensations such as Eminem and Lady Gaga — told her she was 20 years too early to bring South Asian talent to the U.S.

Now, Acharia is the founder and CEO of 5 Junction, a joint label with Warner Music Group focused specifically on investing in South Asian artists in the U.S.

“That sounded crazy, to think we were 20 years too early, but now, 20 years later, with the explosion of people like Diljit Dosanjh and Karan Aujla … there’s all these South Asian acts that are coming here and really selling out, particularly in the live arena,” Acharia told CNBC.

The South Asian music market in the U.S. has remained largely untapped, but as music becomes more globalized, as with the success of K-pop and Latin acts, South Asian talent is making a case to investors as the next big business opportunity, Acharia said.

Global music revenues are reaching all-time highs, surpassing $30 billion in 2025, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Spotify said last year that streams of Indian artists in international markets grew more than 2,000% between 2019 and 2023, and nearly 50% of royalties from Indian artists on the platform in 2024 were from listeners outside India.

With South Asia’s growing population and diaspora, it’s set to be one of the fastest-growing segments within global music, according to Acharia.

“We’re in a different time, and I think digitally things travel just so much faster,” she said. “A lot of big hits were made with samples from Indian music, so it’s been in the zeitgeist for a long time — it’s just not been given a face.”

As more labels look to the subcontinent, Acharia said the business is currently in a stage of experimentation, figuring out what works and how the fan bases will evolve. Warner Music Group is the third-largest music label in the U.S., holding roughly 17% market share by distribution ownership as of the first quarter of 2026, according to Billboard.

“I think the business proposition is this global Indian fandom,” she said. “How do we galvanize this audience and this fandom, and how do we serve it?”

5 Junction represents top artists such as singer and songwriter Rhea Raj, who told CNBC she’s seeing South Asian music become more mainstream in the U.S.

“We’re seeing more artists at bigger festivals and at award shows, and I think the best of it’s yet to come,” Raj said.

Raj and her sister, Lara Raj, of the girl group Katseye, are two of many South Asian artists in the U.S. building out fan bases that span backgrounds and ethnicities.

Rhea Raj, who got her start on “American Idol” nearly a decade ago, said she believes now is the time that South Asian music is going to “explode” in the U.S., especially as 5 Junction continues to bring more artists to the main stages.

“South Asian music, it is so diverse, and within that, there are so many countries and regions and styles and things to break down and explore, and I just hope that as time goes on and we have more artists in the mainstream pop world, we’ll get to see more and more pieces of that,” she said.

The streaming era has helped Warner Records to narrow its focus on the South Asian music business because it lowers the barriers to entry, said Karen Kwak, the company’s executive vice president and head of artists and repertoire.

Kwak told CNBC that when she got into the music business, there were practically no other executives or artists who looked like her. Now, that picture has changed dramatically.

Kwak said the younger generations, especially in South Asia, are driving current music trends.

“That is what is so great about the music world we live in today, is that everybody is embracing who they are, and I think youth all over the world, they want to see stars that look like them,” Kwak said. “It’s a rabid fandom in India … and it’s exactly where we want to be.”

The record company is also focused on encouraging collaborations between South Asian musicians and popular American artists to help them break into the music scene, she added.

“It’s really about building worlds, and yes, of course, we’re going to continue investing [in South Asian talent],” she said. “It is what music is. We’re changing and impacting and creating the new music culture.”

It’s also important to Warner to be “genre-bending and genre-blending,” Kwak said, adding that the company is investing in South Asian talent that spans multiple types of music, languages and audiences.

Nora Fatehi is one of those artists. The Moroccan Canadian singer and actress, who has more than 45 million followers on Instagram, saw the potential in the South Asian market and broke in — targeting that audience even though she doesn’t have a connection to South Asia — and became one of the biggest names in the business.

“Right now, what 5 Junction and Warner are trying to do is tap into the different talent that’s coming out of that country, give it a platform, and also allow people around the world to consume the music and to consume the artistry like never before,” she told CNBC.

Fatehi, who will be performing at the World Cup opening ceremony in Toronto in a few weeks, said that even though the American market is hard to crack as an outsider, she’s seeing the results take hold as more talent from South Asia crosses into the West.

“I think the audience is ready for different stuff,” Fatehi said. “Now, with YouTube and Spotify and with social media, I don’t think borders exist any longer. … I think labels and managements and platforms realize that people are ready to consume different types of music.”

— CNBC’s Ryan Baker contributed to this report.