Local artists have knocked K-pop off Indonesia's charts

Something has changed in what Indonesians play on repeat. For years, K-pop, J-pop, and Western songs filled the charts. Now local artists are on top, and Indonesia shows the sharpest shift of any country in Southeast Asia. Local acts' share of Spotify's weekly top 10 in Indonesia jumped from 39 percent in 2021 to 97 percent in the first half of 2026, according to data from Soundcharts cited by Al Jazeera. On radio, the local top-10 share rose from 29 percent to 55 percent over the same years.

This is not only about taste; it is money. Indonesia's digital music revenue grew from US$164 million to US$264 million across that period, as more people paid to stream and local labels signed more acts. The reach is crossing borders too. An independent researcher, Tsurezure Lab, found Indonesian artists' share of Malaysia's Spotify weekly top 50 rose from about 18 percent in 2023 to around 22 percent in early 2026, helped by a shared language and the large Indonesian diaspora, meaning Indonesians living and working abroad.

One example is the group No Na, signed to the Asian music company 88rising, who mix Indonesian sounds and imagery, including gamelan (traditional Indonesian percussion music), for a global audience. The trend sits alongside Indonesia's return to upper-middle-income status in 2023, a reminder that a bigger home market can lift its own culture.

Why it matters

If you make music, manage artists, or run a venue, this is a real opening: local acts now hold the home audience and are starting to sell abroad. For everyday listeners, it means more homegrown stars and a culture that travels, not one that only imports. Watch whether Indonesian labels and platforms can turn this moment into lasting export income, the way South Korea did with K-pop.