The Latest Spotify Trends: Hip or Hype?

I bet you’re often left wondering, ‘what is “hip” and what is “hype”?’. Well, this post will help to clear up any confusion. We’ll explore some of the most exciting longest spotify playlist, and discuss what they are, why they are popular and if you should get on board with them. By the end of this post you’ll be able to make an informed decision if you want to embrace the latest trends or not.

1. The ‘Free-To-Play’ (FTP)

This year has seen a massive rise in free tracks being added to Spotify. There have been over 20,000 free tracks added to Spotify so far this year, more than any other year on record. The majority of these tracks are very short (seconds long), and many are entirely instrumental hip-hop beats.

You can add tracks you find during searches on the “Now Playing” page of your mobile Spotify app, or by clicking the play button on an individual track in your library.

2. Trap Music

Trap music is slowly making its way into the mainstream. First appearing on Spotify back in 2011, we’ve seen a huge rise this year. Trap will be the most popular genre for at least the next few years, with some of the biggest names in hip-hop (Drake, Kanye West, Future) on board. Some big names are even releasing music entirely in trap style:

A$AP Rocky: “Everyday”

3. Bass Music

During early 2015 bass is slowly starting to make its way into more mainstream circles. Artists like Flume and OceanLab are highly involved in this scene and have been dropping tracks like mad. In fact, Flume has released his first ever song completely dedicated to bass!

Flume – “Sleepless”

4. Party Rap

Party rap is a rising trend in hip-hop right now. A relatively new genre, it focuses on the positive aspects of partying and having fun rather than the negative aspects of being in a gang. Party rap is proving to be a popular alternative to trap music. Artists like Wiz Khalifa are enjoying great success with this style:

Wiz Khalifa – “We Dem Boyz”

5. Emo Rap

This year we’ve seen an immense rise in emo rap, which is essentially hip-hop focusing on feelings and emotions as opposed to hardcore partying. Famous names like Eminem have played a key role in this rise (and also helped coin the term).

Eminem – “Lose Yourself”

6. New Jack Swing

Once a dying genre, New Jack Swing is not only making a huge comeback but is also the most popular genre of this year so far! This style was hugely popular in the 80s and 90s, and is now enjoying a resurgence as 80s names like Teddy Riley are releasing new music. This era also gave rise to some of the biggest names in hip-hop history:

New Era – “New Jack Swing”

7. Song Pop (Pop Song Remixes)

This one is pretty simple: remixes of popular songs are becoming more common these days. In fact, some of the biggest music acts of 2014 have released popular single remixes in 2015. The top three artists on the list below have released official remixes so far this year:

1. Katy Perry – “Dark Horse” (feat. Juicy J)

2. Taylor Swift – “Bad Blood” (feat. Kendrick Lamar)

3. Nicki Minaj – “Anaconda” (feat. Nicki Minaj)

8. EDM Trap Hop and Happy Hardcore

EDM trap hop is a fast-growing trend within the hip-hop and dance genre known as EDM, or Electronic Dance Music. This style of music is a hybrid between hip-hop and house music, but the main focus is on trap-style beats.

Becky G – “Shower”

Happy hardcore is a similar genre that focuses more on house music and dance beats. The only difference between them is that happy hardcore has brighter, happier sounding beats with lyrics aimed at optimism and serenity.

Ariana Grande – “Problem” (feat. Iggy Azalea)

9. EDM Trap (Remixes)

Another similar trend to trap hop, EDM remixes are incredibly popular right now. Many EDM tracks are being remixed by popular trap DJs like RL Grime. This trend is clearly here to stay, with even more EDM remixes than ever before appearing on Spotify in 2015.

10. Music Streaming

This final trend isn’t really a trend at all, but something you need to know about. Tens of millions of people are now streaming music through platforms like Spotify, some even going so far as never downloading music at all! Streaming is the future, and will only keep growing in popularity and revenue over the next few years:

“I don’t download music – I stream all my music through YouTube, Soundcloud and Spotify” ( source )

Summary:

In this post we’ve explored 10 of the most popular music trends on Spotify, and discussed what they are and why so many people love them. In a few years’ time beats will sound AMAZING. Who knows what type of music will be popular in the future? The tracks below may be old news in a few years, but they’re definitely worth exploring now in case you want to take advantage of them.

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