Spotify reveals top global trends of 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of people's lives including their music streaming habits, as Spotify revealed in its annual wrap-up report on global trends.
According the Spotify's #2020Wrapped report, the most streamed artist globally in 2020 was Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who racked up over 8.3 billion streams thanks to his album YHLQMDLG released in late February. Following him on the list are Drake, Latin star J Balvin, the late rapper Juice WRLD, followed by The Weeknd.
The Weeknd also took the crown for the most streamed song, which was Blinding Lights with nearly 1.6 billion streams.
Billie Eilish kept her crown as Spotify’s most-streamed female artist for the second year in a row, followed by Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande. Coming in as the fourth and fifth most-streamed female artists are Dua Lipa and Halsey.
#2020Wrapped is finally here!
— Spotify (@Spotify) December 2, 2020
? https://t.co/DEkWri0PVR ? pic.twitter.com/yx5tPciZjA
Top global trends this highly unusual year included an increase in work-from-home themed playlists, nostalgia playlists, and games console streaming.
This year saw a staggering 1,400 percent plus increase in WFH themed playlists as people were forced to quarantine at home and socially distance themselves from other people. The streaming giant also saw an increase in nostalgia-themed playlists, with the 1980s being the decade that most listeners threw back to.
As lockdowns dragged on, the streamer saw a spike in gardening, cleaning, and health and wellness podcasts and content. Garden-themed playlists bloomed on the platform, as much as 430 percent shortly after lockdown restrictions were put in place. With the uptick of people streaming at home, Spotify also noted a 55 percent increase in gaming consoles being used for streaming.
Many Spotify users started tuning in to podcasts in 2020 as well, with the Society & Culture genre, which includes both spooky stories and foodie content, taking the top spot. Other popular genres for streaming include Comedy, Lifestyle & Health, Arts & Entertainment and Education, proving that people are turning to podcasts as a stress relief mechanism as well as for learning.
Roughly 1.9 million podcast titles were added to Spotify this year, with The Joe Rogan Experience bagging the top spot for most popular podcast of the year. Coming in second and third are TED Talks Daily and The Daily, keeping listeners up to date on current events. The fourth spot goes to a new series from a well known voice: The Michelle Obama Podcast. The fifth most popular podcast is the comedy/advice show Call Her Daddy.
Check out the full Spotify #2020Wrapped report here.
(Images via Spotify)
