News May 1, 2019

Heavy metal is officially the fastest-growing music genre in the world

Heavy metal has officially been recognised as the fastest-growing music genre in the world, according to a new report from music distributors TuneCore.

It’s no secret that heavy metal is an incredibly popular music genre. After all, we’ve not only seen scientific studies confirm metalheads are “nice people’, but we’ve seen the likes of Montreal crowned a ‘heavy metal city’, and we’ve also seen David Hasselhoff turn to the genre for his next album.

Needless to say, it’s hardly surprising to learn just how popular the genre is.

However, according to a new report from TuneCore, it seems that not only is heavy metal a popular style, it’s the most popular genre amongst streaming services, turning it into the fastest-growing music genre in the world.

TuneCore, who allow musicians to distribute their music through streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and much more, recently released their Q1 report, revealing that 2018’s streaming and download numbers saw an 83 percent increase over 2017, bringing their total to 199.3 billion.

“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,” explained TuneCore CEO Scott Ackerman.

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

Likewise, breaking the numbers down, TuneCore revealed that Africa had seen the highest growth in streaming, with 146 percent in 2018, while Asia and Oceania followed behind with 52 and 38 percent, respectively.

However, it’s TuneCore’s breakdown of genres that is the most exciting, with the service revealing that it was heavy metal that saw the most growth in 2018, with its 154 percent increase officially making it the fastest-growing genre worldwide.

Close behind though, J-Pop saw a 133 percent increase, while genres like R&B/Soul and K-Pop follow behind at 68 and 58 percent, respectively.

While it’s unclear at this stage if this trend will continue into the future (especially given K-Pop’s apparent global domination), this is hardly a surprise to fans of heavy metal, who undoubtedly have their horns up at this news.