- Beat of India – Dedicated to folk music of northern India. Audio, video samples, artists from various regions, songs for specific occasions and seasons.
- Bhangra Pavo – Hundreds of latest songs, pop, remix and old Punjabi songs.
- Blissful and Timeless Oldies – Listen to some of the songs sung by S. D. Burman and Kundan Lal Saigal. Also there are some punjabi folk songs.
- Guide to Classical Indian/Jazz Fusion – Listing of artists in this genre, including cross-references and web links.
- HindiSongs.Net – Collection of downloadable Hindi music.
- Indian Melody – Indian music ranging from old melodies to latest film hits, in real audio, and links to mp3 sites.
- Indian Music – The Legends and the Latest – On what is happening and has happened in Indian music.
- Indian-Music.com Welcomes You – Music articles, database of musicians, orchestra groups, DJs, recording studios, and music institutes.
- IndianRythm – Songs from Hindi, Kannada, Tamil Pop Albums.
- Indya.com Music – Music pages at the indya.com website.
- MelodyJunction – Hindi music artists from around the world making music in their home studios.
- Music Beats – Learn about the history of Indian regional music.
- Music Magazine, The – An online music magazine, with reviews, interviews, news, features. Covers all genres of Indian music.
- Nach De Punjabi – Offers Bhangra news, videos, lyrics, and forums.
- Navster.com – Join the largest, most diverse online community of Indian music lovers.
- Odissi Mardala – Dedicated to the ‘Mardal’, a rhythm instrument that accompanies Odissi dances.
- Radio Hangama – Live internet radio broadcast featuring songs, ghazals, and entertainment programs.
- Raga Net – An electronic magazine on music and fine arts of India.
- RagaSudha – Melodious Telugu Music – Telugu film music in real audio. Including devotional, hits of Viswanath, old songs, new hits.
- Rageshree Music Institute – Dedicated to north Indian classical music. Offers music catalog, artists listing, and classifieds.
- Safari Sounds – Collection of MP3 music, songs, instrumentals, and pictures of Aishwarya Rai.
- Sindhiana Radio – A collection of Sindhi songs from various sources.
- All India Internet Radio – Internet-only radio station broadcasting entertainment and news programs.
- Balle Balle Radio – Online Punjabi and Bollywood music. Includes radio show download.
- Punjabi Network Radio – Folk songs of Punjab streamed in real audio.
- Radio of India – Streams news and information in multiple languages. Requires registration and login.
- Radio Sargam – Bollywood news and radio.
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. India’s classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and, developed over several eras, remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as sources of religious inspiration, cultural expression and pure entertainment. India is made up of several dozen ethnic groups, speaking their own languages and dialects. Alongside distinctly subcontinental forms there are major influences from Persian, Arab and British music. Indian genres like filmi and bhangra have become popular throughout the United Kingdom, South and East Asia, and around the world.
Indian pop stars now sell records in many countries, while world music fans listen to the roots music of India’s diverse nations. American soul, rock and hip hop have also made a large impact, primarily on Indian pop and filmi music. Other highly popular forms are ghazal, qawwali, thumri, dhrupad, dadra, bhajan, kirtan, shabad, and gurbani.
The earliest texts of Indian music are the Natya Shastra, Dattilam, Brihaddeshi, and the Sangita-Ratnakara.
The biggest form of Indian pop music is filmi, or songs from Indian musical films. Independent pop acts such as Alisha Chinoy, Shaan, and rock bands like Indus Creed, Indian Ocean, and Euphoria exist and have gained mass appeal with the advent of cable music television. As far as Western rock music is concerned, one of the greatest personalities in rock history, Freddie Mercury of the legendary band Queen had Indian Parsi roots, starting his first band in the Indian boarding school of St. Peters in Panchgani.
Many languages are spoken in India, and there are film industries for each of the major languages (see Indian cinema). Film music is mostly used in commercial Indian cinema, which is mainly produced in the centres of Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. Indian movies are best-known for their music and composers (music directors). Today’s most popular music director, A.R. Rahman, got his start in Tamil films and then moved to Bollywood. Well-known music directors of the past include Naushad, R.D. Burman and Ilayaraaja.
Most Indian films are musicals. The actors generally do not sing, but lip-synch to songs sung by such accomplished playback singers as Yesudas,Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Alka Yagnik, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar,S.P. Balasubrahmaniam and Jayachandran.
Filmi songs are extremely popular; they are sold on tape and CD, played on the radio, and featured on television programs. They combine Indian classical music, with its sophisticated, melismatic vocals and traditional instruments, with catchy tunes and stylings from Western pop music. The novel experimentation (resulting in such mixes as ‘Indian hip hop’) has been received well in India and continues to grow in popularity.
