On 14 May, Mumbai joined nine cities across the world in hosting Spotify’s Equal Day. The event—named after Spotify’s global initiative to fuel equality in the music industry—was held in India for the very first time. Equal Day comprised workshops, panel discussions, networking sessions, and performances, and also featured keynotes by Amarjit Batra, the managing director of Spotify India and general manager for the company in South Asia, Middle East, and Africa; and Bel Aztiria, the lead of global music programmes at Spotify.
The programming for the event drew from a 2025 survey, commissioned by Spotify and conducted by YouGov, of over 1,000 respondents from across India’s music ecosystem, 70% of whom were women. The study uncovered three main findings: that more than 56% of the women surveyed listed safe and inclusive work environments among their top five challenges; that nearly 40% of the female respondents said they had faced issues due to the absence of peer or mentorship support; and that 61% felt that seeing more women in decision-making roles and recognition for their work across genres and technical spaces was key to improving career growth.
The day kicked off with a series of workshops. ‘The Fundamentals of Music Monetisation’ workshop saw Rumpa Banerjee, the general manager of corporate communications and member relations at IPRS (Indian Performing Right Society); Uzma Khan, the vice president of content marketing and business development at PDL (Phonographic Digital Limited); and music supervisor and the co-founder of the Linear Festivals, Vishruti Bindal, cover topics such as royal collection, distribution, sync and licensing.
In the session on ‘Finding Your Voice and Community: How To Tell Your Story As An Artist’, singer-songwriter and Spotify Equal alumni Gini and Sai Prabha, who is part of the A&R team at Believe, shared tools and tips on everything from pitching to labels to building a fan base. The workshop titled ‘Own You Sound’, helmed by composer and producer Tarana Marwah aka Komorebi, gave participants a glimpse into the craft of music production and how to turn an idea into a track.
The evening witnessed a pair of panel discussions. Culture curator Shilpi Gupta moderated the panel on ‘Women Shaping India’s Music Industry’, which featured Shilpa Sharda, the erstwhile director of artist services at Believe; Raashi Sanghavi, the head of experiences for IPs and live events at BookMyShow; and Yama Seth, the head of talent at Skillbox. The session explored how women are influencing and redefining India’s music landscape across talent management, creative strategy, artist development, and culture, as well as the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of women in music.
The discussion on ‘Building Safer Spaces in Music’ was moderated by Akhila Shankar, the director of artist services at Believe and the head of TuneCore in South Asia, and featured Hindustani classical vocalist Kaushiki Chakraborty; live entertainment strategist Meghana Bhogle; and Anushka Nain, who is in charge of business development and special projects at Momentum India, a safety and security consultancy. Their conversation focused on how safer and more supportive environments can be created for women across the music industry through collective accountability and consideration for mental wellbeing, and the systemic challenges in achieving the same.
The night ended with room-packing performances by singer-songwriters Meba Ofilia and Temsu Clover, guitarist-composer Imnainla Jamir, and playback and pop singers Rashmeet Kaur and Shalmali Kholgade. Notably, Kholgade and Sunidhi Chauhan became India’s first Equal artists in 2021 when their single “Here is Beautiful” was showcased on the cover of the playlist when it launched. The artists were subsequently featured on a billboard in Times Square, as part of a global Equal campaign.
