Heavy metal & J-Pop the largest growing genres for TuneCore

Heavy metal and J-Pop are the two largest growing genres for TuneCore.

The New York-based global platform for independent musicians – which has a presence in Australia – reveals that its artists earned US$83 million in the first quarter of 2019.

This was a 21% increase over Q1 2018.

This brings total distribution revenue to $1.5 billion, 100% of which was paid to TuneCore artists.

Distribution income for artists reached $308 million in 2018, a 28% year-over-year increase.

Total streams and downloads of music by TuneCore’s 250,000 worldwide artists hit 199.3 billion in the past year, a 83% increase over 2017.

In 2018, the fastest-growing genres worldwide were:

• Heavy metal – 154% increase
• J-Pop – 133% increase
• R&B/Soul – 68% increase
• K-Pop – 58% increase
• World music – 57% increase
• Instrumental – 42% increase

In 2018, streaming growth varied worldwide:

• Africa – 146% growth
• Asia – 52% growth
• Oceania (including Australia) – 38% growth
• Europe – 35% growth
• South America – 32% growth
• North America – 31% growth
• Countries with notable streaming growth in 2018 included:
• Morocco – 243% increase
• South Africa – 125% increase
• Italy – 108% increase
• India – 89% increase
• Turkey – 81% increase
• Czech Republic – 72% increase

In addition to distribution income, publishing administration royalties collected for TuneCore artists grew 42% in 2018.

As well, YouTube Monetization delivered significant new income for TuneCore artists, growing 48% over 2017.

“TuneCore is the only global platform that pays artists 100% of what they earn from digital streams and downloads, while also meeting all of their needs across distribution, promotion and publishing administration,” said Scott Ackerman, CEO of TuneCore.

“In 2019 we’re seeing great momentum in helping our customers build sustainable careers by finding new income across formats and channels.”

The platform enables artists to distribute their music to over 150 digital stores and streaming services worldwide including iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer and Google Play