In a recent BBC interview, AR Rahman said, “Past eight years maybe I have felt that people who are not creative hold the power now. Might have been a communal thing also. Not in my face but I can hear Chinese whispers. That they booked you and the other music company funded the movie and got their own five composers.” The reaction to his observation was instant and intense. This was not a young composer struggling to find a foothold, nor a mid-career artiste navigating irrelevance. This was Rahman — an Oscar winner, whose music has shaped the emotional memory of Indian cinema for over three decades — articulating a sense of scarcity. If someone of his stature felt the slowdown, what does that say about Bollywood’s music ecosystem?

The moment made us revisit the questions the industry has been circling for years. Is Bollywood music shrinking, or simply reorganising itself in ways that no longer sustain most musicians? According to the latest IPRS report, film music still leads streams in India, but its share has fallen from around 80 per cent to about 63 per cent of total music consumption over the last few years — a clear sign that listeners are exploring non-film and independent music more than before. So what does “making it” even mean for a Hindi musician in 2026?