India’s digital entertainment habits are shifting quickly. Lumikai’s report “Swipe Before Type” maps how Indians watch, listen, play, and pay. The study surveyed over 3,000 smartphone users across India from September 2024 to September 2025. The findings reveal clear moves toward podcasts, subscriptions, and UPI payments.
Podcasts Over Music
First, podcasts now outpace music streaming in popularity. Forty-five percent of respondents prefer podcasts versus 40% for music streaming. Moreover, video podcasts appear to drive much of this growth. Additionally, audio series as a separate category attracted 25% of listeners. Consequently, long-form and episodic spoken-word content is gaining traction.
Platform choice supports this trend. YouTube and YouTube Music lead as the top audio destinations. Spotify follows next, then Amazon Prime Music and KukuFM. Notably, 57% of respondents say they pay for audio content. Meanwhile, 54% report paying for video content. Therefore, willingness to pay is widespread across formats. This signals that consumers value premium and exclusive media.
Subscriptions & Monetization
Beyond listening, subscription and payment habits stand out. Forty percent of participants have more than three active subscriptions. Furthermore, 80% use UPI for payments, confirming India’s digital payments dominance. These metrics show a market that both consumes and finances digital content. As a result, creators and platforms can pursue monetization strategies with more confidence.
For creators, the implications are clear. Invest in podcast formats and video podcast production. Also, optimize discovery and make payment flows seamless. For platforms, enhance recommendation engines and subscription bundles. For investors, focus on startups that improve payments, subscriptions, or creator monetization.
Act on the Trend
In conclusion, Lumikai’s report paints a decisive picture. Podcasts are leading India’s audio shift, and users are willing to pay for quality. Therefore, the opportunity lies in creating discoverable, high-quality content with frictionless payment options. Finally, those who act on these trends will likely capture attention and revenue as India’s digital media market expands.
About the Author
