Indonesia’s Music Boom: Local Stars, Global Ambitions

Indonesia may be one of the most important music markets the global music business still underestimates.

The following comes from Eveara, a partner of DMN.

With approximately 286 million people, a young population and 230 million internet users, Indonesians generated 179 billion on-demand music streams in 2025, making Indonesia the No. 8 market globally by streaming volume.

Yet the country’s recorded-music economics remain disproportionately small. Industry estimates put Indonesia’s 2025 recorded-music trade value at approximately US$145 million, compared with US$31.7 billion globally. Indonesia currently represents just 0.5% of global recorded-music revenue, pointing to significant untapped potential in one of the world’s most promising music markets.

The structural obstacle is monetization. Premium conversion remains relatively low, while low ARPU, payment capacity, payment-rail limitations and long-established free-music habits constrain monetization. YouTube’s enormous reach and TikTok’s discovery dominance reinforce a market where consumers can access music without necessarily becoming high-value subscribers.

Spotify remains the leading audio-streaming service, while YouTube and TikTok dominate discovery and reach. DataReportal reports approximately 180 million TikTok users aged 18+ in Indonesia. Spotify reports that royalties generated by Indonesian artists increased 16% in 2025 and have more than doubled in three years, demonstrating the growing value of Indonesian repertoire.

Indonesia also has a distinctive local digital ecosystem. Telkom Indonesia and Telkomsel have played a major role in bringing digital entertainment and music to the mass market. Within Telkom Indonesia’s digital ecosystem, Nuon operates Langit Musik, an Indonesian music-streaming platform with local and international repertoire, as well as Langitku, a DIY music-distribution platform built on EVEARA’s white-label technology.

Indonesia’s greatest competitive advantage is its own music. Dangdut, Koplo, Pop Jawa, Pop Timur, and Hipdut are generating national hits with international potential. Artists including Happy Asmara, Dike Sabrina, Tulus, Sal Priadi, Nadhif Basalamah, Pamungkas, Hindia, Raim Laode, Nadin Amizah, NIKI, Bernadya, Vicky Praz, Mahalini, and Gilga Sahid are leading a new generation of Indonesian music with strong national and international appeal.

“Tabola Bale” by Silet Open Up, Jacson Seran, Juan Reza and Diva Aurel spent 19 weeks at No. 1 on the Official Indonesia Chart, while “Garam & Madu” by Tenxi, Jemsii and Naykilla spent 12 weeks at No. 1. These successes demonstrate that Indonesian repertoire can break through without relying exclusively on conventional major-label formulas.

Happy Asmara exemplifies the transition from regional success to international ambition. The major Dangdut/Koplo artist recently partnered with former Sony Music Entertainment A&R and Universal Music Publishing partner Levent Karahan to develop her international career and a broader strategy to bring Indonesian music to global audiences. This includes a collaboration with LMN, the first Turkish-Indonesian girl group, alongside other international collaborations.

Another element is “iPOP,” an emerging concept exploring whether Indonesia can develop a globally recognizable music phenomenon of its own—an international pop identity rooted in Indonesian culture, inspired by K-pop’s global impact.

The independent sector is equally important. Spotify reported that 70% of royalties generated by Indonesian artists on the platform in 2023 came from independent artists or labels. The DIY ecosystem includes distributors such as TuneCore, DistroKid, SoundOn, CD Baby, and Langitku. The larger opportunity is moving beyond basic distribution toward rights management, analytics, publishing, marketing, UGC monetization, and financing.

Copyright administration is another critical piece of the puzzle. LMKN, WAMI, KCI and RAI operate within Indonesia’s collective-management ecosystem, but improving the identification, licensing and collection of royalties remains essential. Better metadata, ownership matching, and payment infrastructure could convert substantial music consumption into additional rights income.

The international opportunity is particularly compelling: around 60% of Spotify royalties generated by Indonesian artists now comes from listeners outside Indonesia. Dangdut, Koplo, Hipdut, Pop Jawa and Pop Timur could become Indonesia’s own global music exports.

By 2030, Indonesian recorded-music trade revenue could plausibly reach about US$350 million. That implies roughly 19% annual compound growth from the current estimated base, still below the pace at which Spotify royalties to Indonesian artists have actually grown, more than doubling in the past three years.

The projection is therefore deliberately conservative, with substantially greater upside if premium conversion accelerates, rights administration improves, local digital infrastructure expands and Indonesian repertoire continues generating international revenue.

Indonesia’s first digital music revolution was about getting people to listen.

The next one is about turning that extraordinary audience into sustainable careers, stronger rights income, and globally successful Indonesian music.