Pakistani music reaching global audiences at unprecedented pace
Pakistani music is reaching global audiences at an unprecedented pace, with new data indicating a sharp rise in international streaming over the past five years.
The trend became particularly visible when Pasoori by Ali Sethi and Shae Gill climbed into the top three of Spotify's Global Viral 50. While widely seen as a breakthrough moment, industry observers say it reflects a longer pattern of Pakistani music resonating beyond national borders.
Data shared by Spotify with The Express Tribune shows that exports of Pakistani music on the platform have increased by 620% over the past five years, pointing to a significant expansion in global listenership.
Pakistani artists have historically found audiences abroad through traditional distribution and collaborations. Legendary qawwal Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan worked with international musicians including Peter Gabriel and Eddie Vedder, while Nazia Hassan's 1981 album Disco Deewane charted in 14 countries and recorded strong sales across Asia.
However, the rise of digital platforms has accelerated that reach. Since launching in Pakistan five years ago, Spotify has expanded global access to both established and emerging artists, including Grammy-winning singer Arooj Aftab.
Streaming figures suggest that much of the audience now lies outside the country. According to Spotify data shared with The Express Tribune, around 89% of streams for Punjabi pop and qawwali originate internationally. Punjabi hip hop and desi pop follow closely, with 88% and 87% of streams coming from abroad, while even traditionally niche genres such as ghazal and bhangra see about 84% of their listenership outside Pakistan.
Industry representatives say the trend reflects both accessibility and the diversity of Pakistan's music. Rutaba Yaqub, Spotify's Artist and Label Partnerships Manager for Pakistan and the UAE, says a wide range of genres - from pop and hip hop to qawwali and ghazal are now finding global audiences.
"Pasoori", released in 2022, remains a key example of this shift. The track became Pakistan's most-streamed song that year and continues to attract listeners worldwide, years after its release.
The increased visibility is also translating into international opportunities. Pakistani artists are appearing more frequently on global stages, and cross-border collaborations are on the rise. Tracks such as "Tu Hai Kahan" by AUR featuring Zayn Malik, along with performances like Ali Sethi's appearance at the Coachella in 2023 following Arooj Aftab highlight the expanding international footprint of the country's music industry.
Ali Sethi is particularly associated with the ghazal format of singing and is often hailed for attempting to revive the ancient art form by experimenting with it and repositioning it as a young person's genre. He collaborates frequently with Grammy-winning music producer Noah Georgeson and has performed at Carnegie Hall, Harvard University, Brown University, Georgetown University, and the Royal Geographical Society among others. Sethi is noted for his ability to blend Hindustani classical ragas with contemporary Western arrangements and for his flair for lending new-age contours to older melodies. In his live performances, he often combines his songs with historical and cultural context, critical commentary, and etymological roots of Urdu words.
Anushae Babar Gill, professionally known as Shae Gill, is a Pakistani singer, mostly working in Punjabi and Urdu music industry. She rose to prominence after her world-famous Punjabi-Urdu duet song "Pasoori" with Ali Sethi, in Coke Studio season 14. Shae Gill was born on 2 September 1998 in Lahore, Punjab, to a Jat Punjabi Christian family hailing from the Gill clan. She was raised in Lahore and attended the Forman Christian College. Shae Gill started her career as a cover-artist on Instagram in 2019.
Throughout the 1980s, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan delivered a plethora of acclaimed qawwalis that highlighted his extraordinary vocal prowess and innovative approach to the traditional Sufi devotional genre, helping to introduce it to wider international audiences. Among these works was Mere Rashke Qamar, a ghazal-qawwali with lyrics by Urdu poet Fana Bulandshahri and composed by Nusrat. Another notable hit was the introspective ghazal-qawwali Sochta Hoon Ke Woh Kitne Masoom Thay, originally written and composed by Nusrat, with live performances dating back to the late 1970s but officially recorded by Oriental Star Agencies Ltd in 1985.
In April 2011, Arooj Aftab was included in the "100 Composers Under 40" selection launched by NPR and WQXR-FM's Q2 (a contemporary classical music internet radio station). Aftab's first album, Bird Under Water, was released independently in 2014. It received critical acclaim from David Honigmann of the Financial Times, who gave the album four out of five stars in March 2015. She worked as an editor on the documentary Armed With Faith (2017), winning a 2018 Emmy Award afterward.