When music govt Anjula Acharia started launching famous person actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas into Hollywood within the early 2000s, her label accomplice Jimmy Iovine — the title behind pop sensations equivalent to Eminem and Girl Gaga — informed her she was 20 years too early to carry South Asian expertise to the U.S.
Now, Acharia is the founder and CEO of 5 Junction, a joint label with Warner Music Group targeted particularly on investing in South Asian artists within the U.S.
“That sounded loopy, to assume we have been 20 years too early, however now, 20 years later, with the explosion of individuals like Diljit Dosanjh and Karan Aujla … there’s all these South Asian acts which can be coming right here and actually promoting out, notably within the dwell area,” Acharia informed CNBC.
The South Asian music market within the U.S. has remained largely untapped, however as music turns into extra globalized, as with the success of Ok-pop and Latin acts, South Asian expertise is making a case to traders as the following large enterprise alternative, Acharia stated.
International music revenues are reaching all-time highs, surpassing $30 billion in 2025, in response to the Worldwide Federation of the Phonographic Business. Spotify stated final 12 months that streams of Indian artists in worldwide markets grew greater than 2,000% between 2019 and 2023, and practically 50% of royalties from Indian artists on the platform in 2024 have been from listeners exterior India.
With South Asia’s rising inhabitants and diaspora, it is set to be one of many fastest-growing segments inside international music, in response to Acharia.
“We’re in a distinct time, and I believe digitally issues journey simply a lot quicker,” she stated. “Numerous large hits have been made with samples from Indian music, so it has been within the zeitgeist for a very long time — it is simply not been given a face.”
As extra labels look to the subcontinent, Acharia stated the enterprise is at the moment in a stage of experimentation, determining what works and the way the fan bases will evolve. Warner Music Group is the third-largest music label within the U.S., holding roughly 17% market share by distribution possession as of the primary quarter of 2026, in response to Billboard.
“I believe the enterprise proposition is that this international Indian fandom,” she stated. “How can we provoke this viewers and this fandom, and the way can we serve it?”
Rhea Raj on the occasion Atlantic Music Group and Salomon Current: Whisper Room, A Pre-Grammy Celebration, at The Gap in Los Angeles, Jan. 30, 2026.
Chad Salvador | WWD | Getty Photographs
5 Junction represents prime artists equivalent to singer and songwriter Rhea Raj, who informed CNBC she’s seeing South Asian music turn out to be extra mainstream within the U.S.
“We’re seeing extra artists at greater festivals and at award reveals, and I believe the most effective of it is but to return,” Raj stated.
Raj and her sister, Lara Raj, of the woman group Katseye, are two of many South Asian artists within the U.S. constructing out fan bases that span backgrounds and ethnicities.
Rhea Raj, who bought her begin on “American Idol” practically a decade in the past, stated she believes now’s the time that South Asian music goes to “explode” within the U.S., particularly as 5 Junction continues to carry extra artists to the principle phases.
“South Asian music, it’s so various, and inside that, there are such a lot of nations and areas and types and issues to interrupt down and discover, and I simply hope that as time goes on and we’ve got extra artists within the mainstream pop world, we’ll get to see an increasing number of items of that,” she stated.
‘Constructing worlds’
Nora Fatehi performs on “The Tonight Present Starring Jimmy Fallon,” Nov. 19, 2025.
Todd Owyoung | NBCUniversal | Getty Photographs
The streaming period has helped Warner Data to slender its give attention to the South Asian music enterprise as a result of it lowers the obstacles to entry, stated Karen Kwak, the corporate’s govt vp and head of artists and repertoire.
Kwak informed CNBC that when she bought into the music enterprise, there have been virtually no different executives or artists who appeared like her. Now, that image has modified dramatically.
Kwak stated the youthful generations, particularly in South Asia, are driving present music developments.
“That’s what is so nice in regards to the music world we dwell in at the moment, is that everyone is embracing who they’re, and I believe youth everywhere in the world, they need to see stars that seem like them,” Kwak stated. “It is a rabid fandom in India … and it is precisely the place we need to be.”
The report firm can also be targeted on encouraging collaborations between South Asian musicians and common American artists to assist them break into the music scene, she added.
“It is actually about constructing worlds, and sure, in fact, we’ll proceed investing [in South Asian talent],” she stated. “It’s what music is. We’re altering and impacting and creating the brand new music tradition.”
It is also vital to Warner to be “genre-bending and genre-blending,” Kwak stated, including that the corporate is investing in South Asian expertise that spans a number of varieties of music, languages and audiences.
Nora Fatehi is a kind of artists. The Moroccan Canadian singer and actress, who has greater than 45 million followers on Instagram, noticed the potential within the South Asian market and broke in — focusing on that viewers although she does not have a connection to South Asia — and have become one of many largest names within the enterprise.
“Proper now, what 5 Junction and Warner try to do is faucet into the completely different expertise that is popping out of that nation, give it a platform, and in addition permit individuals around the globe to devour the music and to devour the artistry like by no means earlier than,” she informed CNBC.
Fatehi, who might be performing on the World Cup opening ceremony in Toronto in just a few weeks, stated that although the American market is difficult to crack as an outsider, she’s seeing the outcomes take maintain as extra expertise from South Asia crosses into the West.
“I believe the viewers is prepared for various stuff,” Fatehi stated. “Now, with YouTube and Spotify and with social media, I do not assume borders exist any longer. … I believe labels and managements and platforms notice that persons are able to devour various kinds of music.”
— CNBC’s Ryan Baker contributed to this report.
