K-pop, trap, latin and pop rock make unexpected rise, data reveals renewed interest in niche genres
LOS ANGELES and STOCKHOLM, Jan. 11, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Soundtrack Your Brand, the leading global music streaming service for businesses, today released its 2022 music data and year in review trends, detailing the top played genres, artists and playlists in retail shops, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, hotels, spas, airports, offices and more via the company’s unique on-demand music library of more than 90 million tracks cleared for commercial use.
“Soundtrack Your Brand’s end of the year data report reveals key trends,” Soundtrack Your Brand’s CEO Ola Sars said. “Our platform is designed to track every single song played by our clients so artists and right holders are properly remunerated. Not surprisingly, music usage for businesses looks different than consumer service use patterns. Most businesses focus on a consistent brand and sound identity that harmonizes their business type and enhances their customer experience. For example, in 2022, we saw an increase of K-pop in retail segments, while there was an increase of pop-rock in bars. Cafes and coffee shops played more chill hop and R&B in addition to singer-songwriter and jazz genres. Spas and salons continue to rank high in ambient music. The growth in K-pop, trap, pop rock and Latin music from last year to this year conveys some unexpected and renewed interest in niche genres, based on target audience and business type.”
The top 10 genres streamed across commercial businesses were pop, lounge, jazz, rock, ambient, dance/electronic, EDM, pop-rock, singer-songwriter and R&B. Between 2021 and 2022, K-pop streaming grew by more than 200 percent, trap grew by 87 percent and Latin grew by 22 percent, while pop rock genres categories increased by 47 percent.
Some of the top commercially streamed artists of 2022 include Harry Styles, inclusive of his “Music for a Sushi Restaurant” track, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, The Weeknd, Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, One Republic, Dua Lipa, Imagine Dragons, Camila Cabello, Kygo and Calvin Harris, as well as some global breakout tracks from Ava Max, Surfaces, Conan Gray, Lost Frequencies, Alan Walker and mixes from David Guetta. The top 10 Soundtrack Your Brand curated playlists were pop FM, good times pop, hits of the 80s, summer break 2022, springtime pop, dinner and drinks, most played pop, can’t stop chill hop, lo-fi chill and hits of the 2000s.
Soundtrack Your Brand’s year-end report also revealed that businesses started playing holiday music on November 1 with a steep increase on November 24 followed by an expected decline after December 24. However, 80 percent of businesses continued to play holiday music through December 28. Almost an equal number of businesses mixed their holiday music with non-holiday music over the month of December, a bonus for employees who work long days serving guests during the holiday season.
U.S. consumers make more than 90 billion visits to businesses every year, according to MRC Data’s 2021 Background Music: The Untapped Promotional Avenue for Music Report. During those visits, 79 percent of consumers actually notice the music being played, and 73 percent take action to seek out the music that they like, presenting a huge untapped promotional opportunity for music. The music for business market provides a new incremental revenue stream for labels, publishers, artists and composers. In 2020, Soundtrack Your Brand launched Soundtrack Unlimited, the world’s first on-demand music for business streaming, featuring more than 90 million tracks, offering a comparable experience to consumer music service while providing properly licensed for business and commercial use.
For more information about Soundtrack Your Brand, visit soundtrackyourbrand.com.
ABOUT SOUNDTRACK YOUR BRAND:
Soundtrack Your Brand helps thousands of businesses strengthen relationships with customers through music. Combining expert curation and world-class tech, Soundtrack Your Brand provides a beautiful, all-in-one solution for streaming music to stores, hotels, restaurants, and other commercial settings. Soundtrack Your Brand was founded in 2013 by Ola Sars as a joint effort with Spotify, as Spotify for Business. Soundtrack Your Brand is the world’s fastest-growing B2B music streaming service. Clients include iconic brands such as McDonald’s, Lululemon, Uniqlo, Joe & The Juice, Aesop and Tag Heuer, to name a few. Learn more at soundtrackyourbrand.com and @soundtrackyourbrand on social media.
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SOURCE Soundtrack Your Brand
