It appears that the success of Slumdog Millionaire and its soundtrack has become a tipping point of sorts. The New York Times reported that Universal will be partnering with DesiHits! to create a new label dedicated to East Asian artists.
"Indian-Pop entered American movies with the movie, Moulin Rouge!. Its main number, "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend (Hindi)", featured Alka Yagnik's song "Chamma Chamma" from the Indian movie, China Gate (1998)," according to Wikipedia's Indian Pop article. I have to say "Diamonds" was the first time I remember immediately recognizing the Indian backbeats and musical underpinning. (The original version of “Jai Ho” was in Hindi, and a remix version was released in English and performed by the Pussycat Dolls.) The “Slumdog” soundtrack sold nearly 400,000 copies, and “Jai Ho” won a Grammy in addition to an Oscar.
Lest we forget where is all came from, NPR offers Indian Classical Music with Ravi Shankar and Asha Bhosle is featured in NPR's 50 Great Voices series as the "Voice of Bollywood".
Resources:
A New Label's Mission: Indian Music from the New York Times
Indian Music: The Indipop from Culturopedia
Indian Pop from Wikipedia
Although a bit outdated the 2008 Consumer Profile from the RIIA (Recording Industry Association of America) is still an interesting look at where music listeners spend their money. Pages 10-11 of the IFPI Digital Music Report 2010 offers a summary of the digital content sales worldwide.
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