The Ministry of Culture has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with YouTube to promote Indian traditional, folk, and tribal music on a global platform. The agreement was formalised in New Delhi on Friday in the presence of Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and senior officials from the ministry and YouTube India.
The initiative aims to strengthen the ecosystem for folk and traditional musicians by improving their access to digital tools, training, and global audiences. It will focus on enabling artists to build sustainable careers while preserving India’s cultural heritage.
Officials said the programme will include structured training in digital content creation, channel management, monetisation strategies, and copyright awareness. Artists will also be trained to use analytics tools to better understand and grow their audiences.
The Ministry of Culture will provide institutional support through its network of autonomous cultural bodies. This includes access to infrastructure such as recording facilities, mentorship programmes, and region-specific outreach to identify and support artists across the country.
YouTube will work with the ministry to deliver digital skilling initiatives and support artists in distributing their work globally. The collaboration will also explore ways to improve awareness around intellectual property rights and revenue opportunities in the digital space.
The government said India’s folk and tribal music traditions often face challenges related to visibility, distribution, and rights awareness. The partnership is intended to address these gaps by combining institutional support with digital platforms.
A joint task force will oversee the implementation of the programme, including execution and impact assessment.
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