Apple's Style Guide contains a detailed, mandatory genre framework specifically for Indian music — among the most granular sections in the entire guide.
2.11.1 The baseline requirement
Indian music must carry at least one Indian genre or Indian subgenre at the release level, as primary or secondary. For Indian soundtrack albums specifically, the language-specific genre must be the primary genre.
2.11.2 Regional language genres
Apart from Hindi, the following Indian regional languages each have their own dedicated genre that must be used as Primary when applicable: Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Haryanvi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. Any regional language not on this list is classified as "Regional Indian".
2.11.3 Genre matrix by release type
| Release type | Primary genre | Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| Hindi film albums | Bollywood | Soundtrack |
| Tamil film albums | Tamil | Soundtrack |
| Telugu film albums | Telugu | Soundtrack |
| Indian Pop | Indian Pop | Regional language if applicable |
| Devotional & Spiritual / Indian Folk / Sufi / Ghazals | That specific genre | — |
| Indian Classical (vocal / instrumental) | Indian Classical | Vocal or Instrumental |
| Carnatic Classical | Carnatic Classical | Tamil if applicable |
Indian music must include at least one Indian genre or subgenre as primary or secondary. Regional languages with their own primary genre include Assamese, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Gujarati, Haryanvi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.
2.11.4 Indian classical-specific rules
For Indian classical albums, music directors are credited with the Composer role on tracks. Classical track titles must include lyrics, raga, tala, and Indian classical genre information (Thumri, Khayal, Tarana, etc.) — abbreviated forms of "raga" or "taal" (raaga, raag, rag, tal) are not accepted, and generic titles like Bhajan, Dhun, Ragam, or Tanam alone are not acceptable as complete titles.
2.11.5 Soundtrack album crediting
Indian soundtrack albums must credit both the Composer (or musical director) and the Lyricist (or Songwriter) with the Primary Artist role at both release and track level. Actors must be credited with the Actor role and must never be credited as Primary on a soundtrack album.
Source: MadDesk article 2.11 (2-11)