MOMENTUM OF TIME MOVEMENTS
All About Music 2025 was a powerful convergence of creativity and industry, themed *‘Momentum – Turning Moments into Movements’*. Over three days at Mumbai’s Grand Hyatt, the conference brought together over 100 speakers—including rising stars like Sid Sriram and Sushin Shyam, and global leaders like IFPI’s Victoria Oakley—to explore the forces shaping India’s music future.
From artist development to the surge in regional music and the disruptive role of AI, the discussions were as dynamic as the scene itself. With 70% of speakers making their debut, the event felt fresh, forward-looking, and deeply rooted in the idea that music isn’t just sound—it’s movement.
The music industry is in full transformation—AI is reshaping how we create, streaming is redefining how we discover, and regional sounds are no longer niche but global powerhouses. This is more than change; this year’s theme “Momentum – Turning Moments into Movements’”. But “Momentum” without direction is just noise. This year, *All About Music* focused on channeling that energy—toward a future where culture leads, creators thrive, and every decision is made with intention. It’s not just about growth. It’s about building an industry that matters.
All About Music 2025 brought together a powerhouse lineup—legends like Shreya Ghoshal and Javed Akhtar, rising stars like Sid Sriram and Sushin Shyam, and global industry leaders from IFPI, Roc Nation, and TuneCore. It’s where indie voices meet mainstream vision, and where the future of music is shaped through bold conversations.
More than a conference, it’s the heartbeat of the industry—where connections spark, ideas collide, and the next wave of music begins. Whether you’re an artist, executive, or enthusiast, this is where you belong.
Celebrated playback singer Shreya Ghoshal and her father, Bishwajit Ghoshal, took the stage for a special session titled “In Conversation,” exploring the deeper roots of her artistry, family discipline, and musical legacy.
Key Highlights from the Conversation
The Rawatbhata Roots: The duo shared inspiring stories from Shreya’s early childhood in Rawatbhata, Rajasthan, where her father worked as an electrical engineer. All About Music
Early Musical Foundations: Bishwajit reflected on recognizing Shreya’s innate talent early on, supporting her rigid classical training, and the pivotal family dedication that shaped her professional journey.
The Evolution of Legacy: Shreya spoke deeply about how her core musical values—instilled by her family—allowed her to navigate more than two decades in the changing mainstream industry while preserving the sanctity of her art.
The EY-Parthenon and BookMyShow report highlights how global mega-concerts are transforming Indian cities into major economic powerhouses. For instance, Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour in Ahmedabad attracted over 222,000 fans, generating an estimated ₹641 crore ($76.9 million) in economic impact while significantly boosting local tourism.
India’s live music sector is evolving into a major “orange economy” growth driver, with the organized live events market projected to grow from ₹12,000 crore to nearly ₹19,600 crore. Driven by destination concerts where 86% of attendees are travelers, this boom boosts local hospitality and retail, supported by a new blueprint for infrastructure and workforce planning.
Padma Shri Adnan Sami sat down with industry veteran Atul Churamani to reflect on his musical evolution. The conversation explored how his genre-blurring melodies reshaped the Indian music landscape, blending classical training with pop sensibilities to create timeless hits.
Key Highlights and Themes
The Independent Pop Era: The discussion traced his role in shaping India’s non-film independent pop music scene, specifically looking back at how his foundational albums revolutionized standard independent production formats.
The Classical-Pop Fusion: They highlighted his unique approach to blending rigorous Indian classical music traditions with accessible western pop sensibilities, a signature stylistic formula that modern creators still utilize to bridge global genres.
Evolution of the Keyboard: As a virtuoso widely recognized for adapting the piano to complex classical Indian notes, he explored how instrument innovation continuously influences modern arrangement and performance techniques.
Javed Akhtar during his keynote sessions at the All About Music 2025 conference—Akhtar highlighted several key facets of songwriting’s past, present, and future:
The Power of the Common Man: He argued that music in the West is made strictly to be listened to, as the common person does not typically sing. In contrast, India’s deep, historical connection to music means the common man sings, making communicative, melody-driven lyrics essential.
Poetic Roots: He underlined that true poetry and music rely on perfect meter, rhythm, and resonance. He expressed strong opinions against “prose poetry,” calling it a deception that destroys the melodic essence of a song.
The AI Threat: Looking to the future, Akhtar cautioned the next generation of artists that while Artificial Intelligence may seem limited today, it will become a significant and highly equipped challenge for lyricists and composers in the coming 5 to 10 years.
The Legacy of Legends: He celebrated the enduring, cultural memory built by legendary playback singers like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, whose voices helped define Indian music.
Radhika Das and Caleb Williams of UNIFIED Music Group held a candid discussion on the dynamics between artists and managers. Their talk centered on building consistency, prioritizing artist well-being, and managing high-stress careers in diverse markets like heavy music and devotional spaces.
The panel emphasized that long-term career momentum is built through discipline and mentorship rather than relying solely on viral moments. Discussions highlighted the necessity of managing artist well-being to prevent burnout, using the rigorous dedication of artists like Arijit Singh as a benchmark for growth.
Pacifico’s insights on Saudi Arabia’s dramatic pivot—shifting from a 2017 live music ban to hosting global headliners like Eminem by 2024—demonstrates the massive potential for accelerated growth in emerging markets. This narrative served as a massive inspiration for Mumbai’s expanding music sector.
Saudi Arabia’s Music Commission has spearheaded a monumental cultural evolution, rapidly turning the Kingdom into a premier global powerhouse for entertainment and art. This journey reached a major turning point in 2017 when the country officially lifted its long-standing commercial ban on live public concerts. By December 2024, the massive fruits of this policy shift were on full display as the flagship MDLBEAST Soundstorm Festival drew historic crowds, headlined by an epic, history-making opening set from global icon Eminem. This staggering growth is guided by the commission’s data-driven strategic roadmap, which combines heavy, world-class infrastructure investments with a dual focus on cultivating domestic artist talent and building international tourism.
Sun Lee—YouTube Music’s Director for Korea, Greater China, India, and South Asia—delivered a compelling case for why long-form music videos remain a vital anchor for artists, even as bite-sized content dominates consumer attention.
A three-time Billboard International Power Player, Lee has spearheaded landmark global visual campaigns with K-pop giants like BTS, BLACKPINK, and BIGBANG. Her perspective highlights how the music industry balances instant viral trends with long-term artistic identity.
Why Music Videos Matter in the Short-Form Era
The Canvas for World-Building: Short-form videos excel at micro-trends, but full-length music videos establish an artist’s core visual narrative, era, and aesthetic identity.
Sustained Global Impact: High-effort music videos act as cultural pillars. They build deep anticipation and maintain fan engagement months after the initial release hook wears off.
The “Shorts-to-Long” Ecosystem: Platforms like YouTube thrive on a symbiotic relationship. Viral 15-second Shorts act as discoverability funnels that drive highly engaged traffic back to the primary, monetized multi-minute video.
Shared Virtual Rituals: Premium long-form videos power massive collective moments—such as live premieres and digital concert events—that build true fandom communities instead of passive scrollers.
Nikhil Chinapa from Submerge Entertainment and Rodney Kolf from Armada Music led a fireside chat breaking down the Armin van Buuren phenomenon at the All About Music 2025 conference.
Core Elements of Armin’s Success
Core Values: Passion, intense dedication, and strong ethics are essential for long-term global success.
Community Building: Armin blends music with a digital-first community, actively engaging fans on platforms like Discord.
Fan Engagement: Creating meaningful, intimate fan experiences is more important than chasing purely commercial gains.
Cult Fanbases: Prioritizing genuine connections over profits is what ultimately sustains the electronic music industry globally.
Versatility: The chat highlighted his ability to connect across scales, contrasting massive global shows with intimate, three-hour sets played in Delhi.
The panel “AI-powered Storytelling with Veo 3 & Tribute to KK” featured singer Shaan, Cyberpunk Studio’s Gourov Dasgupta and Shreya Mehrotra, and moderator Naren Kachroo (Google Cloud India). The session highlighted AI video tools and culminated in a deeply emotional tribute to the late singer KK.
Panelists at All About Music 2025 explored how Google’s Veo 3 empowers directors with granular control over AI-driven storytelling, with speakers likening its impact to the digital music revolution. The discussion also highlighted AI’s increasing realism in video and featured a moving tribute to singer KK, utilizing AI-generated visuals to honor his legacy.
Vikram Mehra, Managing Director of Saregama India Ltd. on his keynote on the state of the industry – The Indian recorded music industry stands at a critical crossroads, balancing massive content consumption against a severe monetization bottleneck. Despite boasting over 800 million smartphone users and ranking as the world’s second-largest market for audio and video consumption, the financial returns remain disproportionately low. According to IMI Chairman Vikram Mehra, the country’s total recorded music revenue is abysmally small for a population of 1.4 billion people. This disparity stems from a massive conversion gap where less than 6% of the 204 million streaming users actually pay for music. Over 90% of listeners remain on free, ad-supported tiers that yield unsustainable per-stream payouts as low as ₹0.01.
Consequently, this heavy reliance on ad-supported models fails to generate fair revenue for artists and stakeholders across the creative ecosystem. To fix this imbalance, the industry must aggressively shift free tier listeners toward paid, premium subscription models.
Mega-platform consolidations, such as the merger of Disney+Hotstar and JioCinema, create powerful opportunities to transition casual users into paid ecosystems via bundled entertainment packages. Simultaneously, implementing stronger anti-piracy measures will further eliminate illegal alternatives and protect digital intellectual property.
By normalizing paid consumption and enforcing stricter paywalls, India can unlock its true market potential and secure a sustainable financial future for its music creators.
At All About Music 2025, a standout session titled “Anish Sood to Anyasa: An Artistic Pivot” mapped the profound transformation of one of India’s premier electronic artists. In a candid conversation hosted by Shilpi Gupta, the pioneer detailed how he dismantled a decade-long commercial legacy to rebirth himself as Anyasa—subsequently becoming the first Indian artist signed to the globally acclaimed label, Anjunadeep. The discussion, anchored by a live performance, offered a masterclass in creative resilience, showcasing how he vulnerably shed past success to authentically blend electronic music with Indian-influenced sounds.
Karan Taurani (Elara Capital) on a chat with Kumar S. Taurani (TIPS Industries) highlighted on Indian Bollywood music sector. The Indian music industry has transitioned into a digital-first market, with approximately 70% of revenue now generated through streaming platforms following pandemic-driven consumer shifts. To adapt, prominent labels like TIPS Industries are pivoting from traditional exclusive contracts toward fairer, song-based deals, highlighting a shift toward ethical practices and artist rights protection.
Despite this, the sector faces challenges from, endemic piracy and a consumer preference for free content. Industry leaders emphasize the necessity of high-quality music in fueling the broader entertainment sector and are advocating for the adoption of paid subscription models. Ultimately, achieving long-term sustainability will require enhanced collaboration between labels, artists, and platforms, alongside the implementation of global best practices.
Audeze featured prominently as the Official Audio Partner at the All About Music 2025 conference, which took place on August 20–22, 2025, at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai. The partnership highlighted the brand’s industry-standard planar magnetic technology used by top sound engineers and producers.
Sankar Thiagasamudram, the founder and CEO of Audeze, participated as a featured curator and speaker at the event.
Attendees had the opportunity to experience Audeze’s high-end, accurate professional headphones, which are utilized in leading studios for audio post-production and mixing.
Day 3 ended on a vibrant note—full of energy, joy, and unforgettable performances. A fabulously perfect blend of culture, celebration, and a well-deserved Glenwalk whisky to toast the moment. What a way to close!
