Tag: Global X

Bollywood Breaks Ground on Spotify with Arrival of T-Series Catalogue

January 16, 2019

For more than thirty million people of Indian origin living overseas, Spotify is where they can hear the sounds of home. And, with this week’s addition of an expanded catalog from T-Series, users can now enjoy thousands of songs from India’s leading music and film company.

The T-Series catalog is full of beloved Bollywood and regional movie soundtracks, as well as albums from established and emerging artists. These additions expand our new Desi hub, which launched in June. Desi features music from Indian genres like Bollywood and Bhangra, and in regional languages such as Punjab and Tamil, to showcase the rich diversity and culture of the region’s artists.

“For us as a diasporic Indian community—to be able to find one place where we can listen to both the Western music we grew up with and the Eastern music that we relate to—this is so significant for lovers of this culture,” says Himanshu Suri, Spotify’s Desi hub editor.

“Bollywood” is the most popular search term for fans of Indian music on Spotify. The T-Series catalog boasts more than 160,000 songs, including Bollywood favorites, some of which are considered to be the most popular Indian songs recorded over the past thirty years. “Clearly, we’re excited, and we know Bollywood lovers will be too, about adding all the incredible hits from T-Series into the mix,” explains Himanshu.

With the addition of T-Series, Desi (or, “from the land”) music lovers everywhere can get excited for plenty more Bollywood—from modern hits such as “Aankh Marey” to nostalgic favorites. Take a listen to the top ten most beloved Bollywood songs on Spotify to date.

  1. Bom Diggy – Zack Knight and Jasmin Walla

Just as the audience for the Desi hub originates from outside of India, so does the first song on the list. UK artists Zack Knight and Jasmin Walla recorded this track in Punjabi, English, and Bengali, and it was featured in the Bollywood movie Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety.

  1. Imran Khan – Satisfya

Dutch-Pakistani, urban Punjabi singer Imran Khan released the Punjabi song “Satisfya” in 2013.

  1. Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny) – A.R. Rahman

This English, Hindu, Urdu, and Punjabi song is considered to be one of the most well-known Indian songs for Western audiences, thanks to the 2008 Hollywood blockbuster Slumdog Millionaire.

  1. Proper Patola – Badshah

Badshah’s EDM-influenced song rounded out the soundtrack to Namaste England.

  1. Channa Mereya – Pritam

This eleven-award-winning love song, which translates as “The light of my soul,” comes from the 2016 Bollywood film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.

  1. Bole Chudiyan – Jatin-Lalit

Sitar-filled and sweet, this song comes from the 2001 Bollywood nostalgia film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (Sometimes There’s Happiness, Sometimes There’s Sorrow).

  1. Thumka – Zack Knight

The second Zack Knight song to grace this list alludes to Latin artist Shakira. “I see Punjabi music as the most likely Indian genre to cross over like Latin music has,” says Himanshu.

  1. Enna Sona – A.R. Rahman

This track is one of two on the list from the 2017 Hindi-language movie OK Jaanu (OK Darling).

  1. The Humma Song – A.R. Rahman

The second song from OK Jaanu. Himanshu notes that most fans of Bollywood music search for an actor, rather than a singer, to find their favorite Bollywood hits.

  1. Maahi Ve – Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

2003 Bollywood film Kal Ho Naa Ho (Tomorrow May Never Come) featured this song alongside an Indian take on Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” called “Pretty Woman.”

 

For more Indian music, from Bollywood to Bhangra, take a listen to the Desi flagship playlist, Desi Hits. You can also learn about our Global Cultures Initiative here.

The Rhythm of the African Diaspora Plays Everywhere—Including Our Afro Hub

January 10, 2019

African music is everywhere. You hear it in Jamaican reggae rhythms, Brazilian salsa songs, and in Atlanta trap tracks. It’s on the streets, in the clubs, and climbing the charts. We’re celebrating the continent’s expressive and diverse music culture in one dedicated space—our new Afro Hub.    

Launched late last year, the hub shares the eclectic sounds of Africa and the African diaspora. And there’s something for everyone, whether you’re discovering Nigerian-British R&B singer Jacob Banks, or falling back in love with favorites you may not know are African-born, like Sade. With the hub, people can access amazing music, from traditional African sounds to electrifying party anthems to compelling podcasts.

We sat down with Spotify Global Lead of African Music & Culture Tunde Ogundipe to learn more about the origins of the Afro Hub, what listeners can expect, and where it’s headed next.

What’s the inspiration behind the Afro Hub?

The idea for the Afro Hub is to be an educational portal, not just for Africans, and not just for the African diaspora, but for everyone—people who are familiar with this type of music and for those who want to discover more.

So the goal of the Afro Hub is to bring all of these different cultures and communities together from the diaspora, especially from the continent of Africa. The hub organizes the sounds of these cultures and communities, making them easy for people to discover in one place.

How is the Afro Hub organized and what types of playlists can people look forward to discovering within it?

The flagship playlist is called African Heat. It’s like our RapCaviar, where people can listen to our top hits. It’s a way for us to show the rest of the world that, hey, there’s music coming out of Africa that, while they’re all amazing, is not only your traditional Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Angélique Kidjo, or Fela Kuti. There’s this whole burgeoning pop scene that’s happening in Africa that you guys need to be hip to.

With Spotify leading the way and creating the Afro Hub, and especially with the playlist African Heat, it’s no longer just mainstream music from West Africa available for discovery. It’s now trending music and regional playlists from the West, East, Central, and South Africa. It’s a much wider and more inclusive net, an amalgamation of all the different areas of the continent represented equally, providing more balance than before.

Some other playlists to check out on the hub are We Everywhere, with top Afro bashment, fusion, and crossover hits; Peppeh, featuring fresh discoveries and early bets on new music; and Gold Mine, full of Afrowave hits and nostalgic classics.

How do you incorporate podcasts into the Afro Hub, and what kinds of podcasts can people discover there?

The big challenge was finding podcasts that are interesting and varied enough for the African diaspora. We reached out to a bunch of influencers in Africa, and asked what podcasts they listened to that spoke to African culture. Each one sent us a list of fifty or so podcasts.

A few really stood out right away, including Jesus and Jollof, which has a really fun and interesting vibe. It features cohosts Luvvie Ajayi, an award-winning author and speaker, and Yvonne Orji, (who stars on HBO’s Insecure.) They’re two powerful Nigerian women talking about things they love, their personal stories, and life in general. Rants & Randomness is another Luvvie Ajayi podcast that was a no-brainer to include. She brings on all-star guests and talks about all things pop culture and society in her own funny yet hold-nothing-back way. There’s also Flagrant 2: No Easy Buckets, a sports podcast hosted by Akaash Singh, Kazeem Famuyide, and Andrew Schulz. It’s a salty, super-entertaining show filled with all kinds of hot takes.

We also have a cooking podcast in the hub that highlights different cuisines across Africa, and there are news- and entrepreneurship-focused podcasts that follow the top general and business news in different regions of the continent.

What makes the Afro Hub so enticing?

People gravitate toward this music, even when they aren’t really familiar with it. They come to the hub because the sound has always attracted people—the same people who like dancehall music, people who love Latin pop music, world music, and Afro pop. It’s the same source with the same energy. People might not even understand the lyrics, but they can vibe to it anyway and keep coming back. That’s why this is so successful.

Ready to give the Afro Hub a spin? Get started with our flagship playlist, African Heat, below.

Mabrook! Spotify is Deepening Our Commitment to Arab Culture Around the Globe

November 14, 2018

From Arabic classical and pop to gritty folk, funk, and hip-hop sounds, Arabic music is alive, poetic, energetic, and complex. This is why we are excited to announce that today, Spotify is launching in 13 new markets across the Middle East and North Africa—and making these unique sounds available to music lovers around the Arab world and beyond.

The Arab region is richly diverse, with varied musical styles and genres. Now, all users in the Middle East and North Africa will have access to Spotify’s entire catalogue of over 40 million tracks and billions of playlists, including a library of brand new, fully curated playlists available exclusively for listeners in the MENA region. From Today’s Top Arabic Hits (أفضل الاغاني العربية)—the finest and freshest hits from the Arabic world—to Feel Good Arabic Hits (احساس جديد) and dance-floor favorites on Arabic EDM (بالعربي) music fans in MENA can enjoy artists, albums, and songs across every genre for every mood and moment, all in a fully localized Arabic Spotify service with right-to-left text alignment.

The 13 new market launches increase Spotify’s total footprint to 78 total markets globally.

“I am super excited to share with you that, from today, Spotify is now available across the Middle East and North Africa,” says Cecila Qvist, Spotify’s Global Head of Markets. “Spotify is launching in MENA with a full Arabic service, dozens of locally curated playlists for every mood and moment, and access to a full catalog of millions of songs, for both our free and premium users. Music fans will also enjoy Spotify’s personalized music recommendations from day one, which will help them easily enjoy, discover, and share new music from local and international artists.”

Of course, there are many millions of lovers of Arab music living outside the MENA region. So, in addition to these 13 new markets, we are also launching a globally accessible Arab hub as part of our Global Cultures initiative, which will connect the music and culture of the Middle East with listeners everywhere.

“As an artist who lived in the Middle East for 30 years, toured the world as a musician and now lives in the U.S., I’ve experienced the differences and similarities between Arabs around the world—and how close they are, even if they’re from different places,” says Suhel Nafar, Spotify’s Senior Arab Music & Culture Editor. “The Arab hub provides the unique platform that brings the full spectrum of Arab culture and creativity, past and present. Celebrating the different dialects, styles, flavors, and sounds.”

Listeners worldwide can explore the Arab hub to find playlists such as Yalla Araby (“Let’s go Arabic”—hits from the Middle East and North Africa); Women Wa Bas (Arab female artists); ’90s Arabic Hits (big at Arab wedding parties); and Arab Indie (emerging Arabic tracks and artists). More playlists highlight essential hits from various regions and cultures, like Egyptian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Moroccan, and Syrian.

“I wanted to focus on moods and moments that are important in Arab culture and history. Stargazer is dedicated to the Arabs who originally influenced astronomy. Many people don’t know that many stars have Arabic names. ‘Altair,’ shortened from ‘Nisr Al-Tair,’ means ‘the flying eagle’ in Arabic. People can sit back and relax to the instrumental playlist, which features various genres of classical music and maqamat (traditional melodies), and enjoy a piece of our culture.”

The Arab hub provides the unique platform that brings the full spectrum of Arab culture and creativity, past and present. Celebrating the different dialects, styles, flavors, and sounds.

— Suhel Nafar, Spotify’s Senior Arab Music & Culture Editor

From the Arab hub, listeners can also navigate to Arab X, which features crossovers of songs by artists and producers from the Arab diaspora, whether Lebanese-Colombian artist Shakira or Moroccan-American rapper FrenchMontana. Newcomers to Arabic music should start with Yalla Araby or Mahraganat, also known as electro-shaabi. (“When you walk in New York past the halal carts, those are the songs they will be playing,” Suhel says.)

Music is at the core of communities around the globe. Though the instruments used, rhythms created, and topics explored may change, the desire to express ourselves remains universal. That’s why we’re so proud to bring these sounds and stories to music lovers around the Arab world and beyond.

Listen to Yalla Araby and the rest of the Arab hub on Spotify.