Photo credit: Luminate
Luminate’s mid-year report reveals the top streaming genres so far in 2023 and favorite consumption habits – with some surprising revelations. Country music is growing in popularity among younger generations and is the fifth most streamed music genre this year.
The top streaming genres so far in 2023 were revealed in Billboard’s data subsidiary Luminate’s semi-annual report, with some surprising revelations. Country music occupies a solid fifth place, behind industry leaders R&B/Hip-Hop, Rock, Pop and Latin.
Earlier this year, the company’s report revealed that the global music industry has surpassed one trillion streams — at the fastest rate in just three months. In 2022, it took four months to reach the same level – but country music is growing in popularity among digital service providers, largely due to younger generations’ love for the genre.
The best streaming genres of 2023 so far
- R&B/Hip-Hop – 27.3%
- Rock – 16.5%
- Pop – 12.8%
- Latin – 8.1%
- Country – 7.9%
- Dance/Electronics – 3.7%
- World Music – 2.5%
- Christian/Gospel – 1.7%
- Classic – 0.8%
- Jazz – 0.7%
It is also worth noting that children’s music is also among the top ten parameters, ranking neck and neck with Christian music/gospel – although this is more due to the increased availability of children’s music on streaming platforms than the genre’s overall popularity compared to other music genres.
The popularity of these genres in terms of streaming numbers correlates with the genres recording the most physical sales, with rock accounting for 44.6% of physical music sales, with their increase continuing to rise in 2023. Pop made up 12.8% of that pie, followed by R&B/Hip-Hop at 10.9%.
More than 60% of products sold direct to consumers are current releases as fans overwhelmingly prefer older music on vinyl. Without vinyl, the number of combined CD and cassette sales increases to 75%, which are current releases and not catalog sales. K-pop helps drive sales of physical media like CDs, cassettes, and vinyl — even as other genres can keep up in this category.