Tag: BTS

This Week on the ‘Spotify: For the Record’ Podcast, Meet BTS

September 17, 2020

There’s no stopping BTS. The K-Pop band recently released their first all-English single, “Dynamite,” which set a new record on Spotify: 12.6 million streams in the first 24 hours. But long before this upbeat track was released, the group was racking up billions of streams from listeners all around the world.

In this week’s episode of our Spotify: For the Record podcast, the seven-member band joined us to talk about their creative process, how they’re staying positive during these challenging times, and—of course—their new hit. To fully understand the extent of BTS’s global impact on music and culture, Kat Moon, TIME Magazine journalist and K-Pop aficionado, detailed the band’s rise to fame and their deep connection with fans. Speaking of fans, the episode wouldn’t be complete without talking to members of BTS’s dedicated fan base, known simply as ARMY. 

Go behind the scenes with BTS on Spotify: For the Record: “BTS: The Band, The Brand & The ARMY.”

3 Major Streaming Trends from Spotify’s First Year in India

February 27, 2020

It’s been exactly 12 months since Spotify launched in India, and my, how we’ve grown. There are now more than 6,400 Indian creators using Spotify for Artists, our platform that lets artists and their teams see who’s listening to their music and take control of their artist profile. Listeners from over 2,300 cities are tuning into more than 350 curated playlists in India—like New Music Hindi and Punjabi 101—and that’s up from 120 at launch. In honor of this anniversary, we dove into some of the trends and themes around a year’s worth of Spotify streaming in India. Here’s what we saw:

1. A lot of love for local artists

Spotify listeners in India have streamed over 130 artists each in the past year. Overall, we found that the top five most-streamed in the country are from India. Topping the list are three beloved Bollywood singers: Arijit Singh, Tanishk Bagchi, and Neha Kakkar. The age group of 35 to 44-year-olds stream Indian artists at a higher rate than any other.

Globally streamed hits are also very popular in India. The most-streamed international artist in India is Post Malone, who was also Spotify’s most-streamed global artist in 2019; BTS and Taylor Swift are popular with Indian listeners as well. The most-streamed track in India over the past year is the global smash “Señorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello, followed by Arijit Singh and Mithoon’s “Tujhe Kitna Chahne Lage” and Sachet Tandon and Parampara Thakur’s “Bekhayali” (both from the soundtrack to the popular Indian film “Kabir Singh”).

2. Music sets the mood

Love songs are a major part of Indian culture, which is why Spotify’s Bollywood Mush playlist is one of the top-streamed playlists among users. Interestingly, listeners in the eastern part of the country—West Bengal, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Assam, Bihar, and Sikkim—have streamed the playlist the most (it seems love rises in the east!).

What’s more, during Diwali, India’s biggest religious celebration, the holiday’s themed playlists—which lean heavily on songs about love and partying—got major traction on the festival’s peak day on October 27, 2019, with plays increasing by almost 4,400%.

 3. Pressing play on podcasts and pop

India has fired up its podcast lineup, launching its first three Spotify original podcasts in December 2019. 22 Yarns With Gaurav Kapur, Bhaskar Bose, and Love Aaj Kal with Aastha & Ankit were each produced in India to cater to an Indian audience. These podcasts, which are all about pop culture, including cricket, fiction thriller storytelling, and relationship advice, respectively, also made it to the top five on the original podcast charts. 

The top three music genres streamed across India are pop, filmi (music from popular Indian movies) and hip-hop. K-Pop also has a growing fan base: Spotify’s most-followed K-Pop playlist, K-Pop Daebak, is a popular choice for Indian listeners. And India is in the top 22% of K-Pop listening in all of Spotify’s markets globally, based on streaming from the past 90 days. 

From the top-streamed artists to the most popular podcasts in India, see how listening stacks up since we launched in February 2019.

Download the infographic here.

For the uninitiated, be sure to stream Spotify’s Top Hits Hindi playlist. 

From BTS to BLACKPINK, the Power of K-Pop Has No Bounds

February 24, 2020

K-Pop is beloved by fans around the world, so we took to the data to see just how popular the music is globally. The genre, which originated in South Korea, has since taken on a life of its own. Thanks to East-meets-West collaborations from BTS and U.S. singer-songwriter Halsey, whose “Boy With Luv” track has over 380 million streams, the reach continues to grow as more and more fans in countries like Egypt and Colombia connect with the music.

Since Spotify released its first K-Pop flagship playlist, K-Pop Daebak, in 2014 (and then a massive hub dedicated to the genre in 2015), there have been more than 41 billion K-Pop streams on Spotify. From rising artists to international collaborations, there’s something for both new and old K-Pop lovers on the platform.

Top-streamed K-Pop artists on Spotify include BTS, BLACKPINK, EXO, TWICE, and Red Velvet. In 2019, BTS was the first group from Asia to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify. And, as of February 2020, the boy band reached a new milestone: more than 8 billion streams (8 billion streams!) on the platform.

No “FAKE LOVE” here, folks. See how much Spotify listeners love the genre.

Download the infographic here.

Check out the K-Pop Daebak playlist and stream BTS’ MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 The Enhanced Album, which is exclusively available on Spotify.

Spotify Refreshes Popular Playlist New Music Friday with Global Rebrand

February 21, 2020

Whether you’re a music fan or an artist, Fridays are about to get even better. Today, Spotify’s highly influential New Music Friday playlist—a curated selection of the most anticipated new tracks of the week—is debuting a global rebrand.

The revamped playlist, which has 43 versions worldwide, will continue to serve as the leading destination for listeners who want to discover new music from both established and emerging talent. With over 3.5 million followers in the U.S. and 8 million globally, it’s an achievement and milestone for artists to have their new tracks included on the list.

With today’s visual relaunch, Spotify is continuing to support its ongoing investment in the must-hear playlist brand, with a major social campaign, New York and Los Angeles billboards, and new cover art. Inspired by a trend of artists making their own celebratory New Music Friday social media assets, Spotify For Artists will now test a new feature where all artists added to the U.S. version—to start—of New Music Friday will be able to grab and share a branded and personalized social asset a la Wrapped.

Celebrate the Diverse Voices of the Asian Diaspora

May 29, 2019

May marks Asian Heritage Month—it’s a straightforward title that represents the incredible diversity and art that comes from the region’s creators. To celebrate the music of Asia’s multiple cultures, from the Philippines to Pakistan, we’re amplifying a wide range of voices through two playlist takeovers.

“Growing up with one foot in the West and one in the East, Asian Americans have had to navigate the hyphens of their identity,” says Himanshu Suri, Spotify’s Senior Editor, Indian Culture. “This month, with playlists like Beast Meets West and No Borders, we get to celebrate our culture and see artists who speak for us and our experiences. Visibility is important!”

The first playlist, Beast Meets West, brings together East Asian creators of all genres, from K-Pop idols like BTS and BLACKPINK to indie singer-songwriters like Mitski. No Borders, meanwhile, highlights the South Asian diaspora across genres and geographies. The playlist features talented South Asian Americans, Brits, Canadians, and more.

“It’s through celebrating our culture, our heritage, and our identity that we’re able to encourage people who look like us to dream big and pursue whatever they want—especially in arts and entertainment,” says Korean American singer-songwriter Eric Nam.

Nam is just one of the artists we spoke to for Asian Heritage Month. We also asked several other East Asian and South Asian creators for a song—whether their own or another Asian artist’s—that represents both the culture and spirit of this month. Read on for some of their recommendations.

Far East Movement: “Our homegirl Tia Ray is one of the most incredible singers we’ve had a chance to work with. What’s beautiful … is that she’s singing in Mandarin and English—it’s really a cross between two cultures and represents what our future album is going to be.”

Yuna: “I chose my track ‘Forevermore’ because it’s very Malaysian, and very close to me. In the beginning of the song I start with an old Malay poetry melody that I used to listen to a lot growing up. Even the music video is a tribute to my hometown and my home country. Always be proud of who you are and where you come from.”

Epik High: “Growing up and living as Asians was a beautifully unique experience for us. But at the same time, we had to struggle through the pressures and expectations unique to our heritage. We hope our song ‘Eternal Sunshine’ can be a shoulder to rest on for those who feel the same way.”

Tiffany Young: “One of my favorite artists right now is Peggy Gou. I love how innovative and fresh she is and how effortlessly she blends all the cultures she grew up in, whether it’s through her lyrics, her choice of instruments, her production, or her amazing fashion taste.”

Jay Sean: “Fifteen years ago, I started writing songs that were fusions of bhangra, R&B, and hip-hop. Since then, I’ve always tried to blend different sounds from around the world. My new single, ‘With You,’ featuring Gucci Mane and Asian Doll, is probably the most unique R&B/trap/hip-hop fusion that I’ve ever done.”

Arjun: “My song ‘Closer to Home’ is all about being true to your roots and your culture. It’s in four languages: English, Hindi, Arabic, and Ghananian.”

Stream Beast Meets West and No Borders to celebrate Asian Heritage Month year-round.

Why the Boy Band Phenomenon Lives On

February 13, 2019

The Backstreet Boys just scored a number-one album—and no, you weren’t accidentally transported back to 1999. Even twenty years later, with the crooning quintet decades removed from actually being boys, their new album, DNA, has topped the charts. Backstreet isn’t just back, though. Boy bands in general never left.

Sure, it felt like the phenomenon exploded two decades ago, thanks to bands like Backstreet Boys (BSB), NSYNC, 98 Degrees, and O-Town. But groups of young men have been hitting high notes together since the earliest days of pop music. Then, as now, superstar boy bands inspire a new generation of devotion to near-perfect harmonies, lovelorn lyrics, and coordinated dance moves.

Think of it this way: Early twentieth-century barbershop quartets and doo-wop groups led to rock bands like The Beatles. Then, in the 1970s, kids went crazy for glitzy sibling boy bands like The Osmonds and The Jackson 5 (the latter of which launched the iconic career of Michael Jackson). The 1980s saw the rise of New Edition, New Kids on the Block, and Menudo, (whose hits went international well before the Latin Invasion) and the seeming rise of boy bands in the late ’90s.

The general story of boy-band immortality, however, can be told by BSB’s streaming data. In 2018, the band averaged almost forty-one million monthly streams; most of those listeners were under age forty-four, with more than a quarter of them under twenty-four. In other words, whether you were a toddler, starting your career, or somewhere in between when the Backstreet Boys first blew up, you’re still blasting the hits, and likely feeling nostalgic when you do.

Other boy bands, including superstar K-Pop groups like BTS and SEVENTEEN, clock monthly streams on Spotify in the millions, with the majority of those loyal listeners under age twenty-four. It’s the same for English-Irish group One Direction, British quartet The Vamps, and Australia’s 5 Seconds of Summer, whose hit “Youngblood” racked up a whopping sixty million average monthly streams in 2018. Nearly all these bands are quickly attracting listeners across continents, thanks to streaming, so you probably needn’t fast-forward a full two decades to see signs that all these groups’ fan bases will eventually resemble BSB’s today.

And, already, another new crop of boy bands is on the rise. In 2019, keep an eye on upstarts Prettymuch (U.S.-Canada), Why Don’t We (U.S.), In Real Life (U.S.), and CNCO (Latin America). No matter where they’re from, however, or which clothing or hairstyle trends they set, the speed at which new boy bands are building a global listenership suggests that the phenomenon will never age out.

Relive the music of the best boy bands of the ’90s with our All Out 90s playlist.

K-Pop Takes Over, From ‘Gangnam Style’ to Global Domination

October 11, 2018

Last week, when K-pop group BTS took the stage at New York’s Citi Field, international #BTSArmy members showed up in droves; some had traveled from across the country and camped out weeks in advance for the promise of catchy beats, a chorus that hooks you, and charismatic dance moves.

Just a few years ago, a sold-out show at one of America’s biggest stadiums may not have been in the cards for a young Korean band. And yet, BTS has inspired fans of all ages, races, cultures, and genders not just in Asia, but in the U.S. and around the world. Call it an official global phenomenon.

K-pop’s popularity has reached a fever pitch: On Spotify, more than 14.2 billion K-pop tracks have been streamed globally, and fans have spent over 46 billion minutes since July 2015 listening to their favorite Korean tracks. These numbers grow each day, making K-pop one of the most-streamed genres across the globe. Its fast tempos, thrilling visual components, and resonant use of melody and storytelling have captivated fans on every continent—and on our dedicated K-pop hub.

The K-Pop hub on Spotify

“K-pop or the Hallyu wave is truly an Asian success story. For a genre that’s in a different language and from a very different culture, it is inspiring to see how K-pop is making its mark on the global stage,” says Eve Tan, Shows & Editorial, Team Lead, Spotify, Southeast Asia. “It is our aim to be a platform of discovery for both artists and music lovers, and we are excited to help Spotify fans across the world enjoy and be inspired by Korean music.”

K-pop first captured the world’s attention with PSY’s 2012 viral “Gangnam Style.” Ever since, the genre has evolved into a diverse and popular subculture internationally. Driven by social media fan fever and Korean TV dramas, the Korean Wave—an increase in global popularity of South Korean culture and entertainment—has broken through to the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and beyond.

Recently, K-pop hit some major international milestones. In September 2017, the genre had its first Billboard Top 10 debut with BTS’s Love Yourself: Her. This past July, GOT7 became the first K-pop act to play Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, and last month, BTS, in partnership with UNICEF, became the first K-pop group to deliver a speech at the United Nations.

To capitalize on their rising popularity across the globe, many K-pop artists now record songs in multiple languages. GOT7 recently dropped their new album title track “Lullaby” in four languages: Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, and English. Some bands have even formed subunits to target different audiences, like supergroup EXO, who perform in both Korean and Mandarin. NCT even has three subunits—NCT U, NCT 127, and NCT Dream—each focused on reaching different age groups and demographics.

Plus, more K-pop artists than ever are collaborating with popular English-speaking artists. BTS and Nicki Minaj dropped their buzzy and vibrant “Idol” video in September 2018, and girl group BLACKPINK has an exciting new collab in the works with English pop singer Dua Lipa. Consider K-pop’s crossover officially complete.

For your K-pop cravings

From the latest K-pop tracks to Korean OSTs (dramatic and highly addictive love songs), there’s a suitable Spotify playlist within our dedicated hub. First introduced in 2015, our K-pop hub is as addictive as the music itself, leading to a significant increase in streams and sharing of Korean music on Spotify.

Today, our K-Pop Daebak playlist (daebak is Korean for cool) hosts exclusive access to vertical video premieres from emerging and chart-topping acts. To keep up with the latest news, dance tutorials, and all things K-pop, be sure to follow the official Spotify K-Pop Daebak twitter account, @SpotifyKDaebak.

4 Questions (and Answers) with Cecilia Qvist, Global Head of Markets

October 11, 2018

From our humble beginnings in Stockholm to our current presence in 65 markets, Spotify is on a mission to bring music streaming to the entire world. But we’re not quite there yet. There’s a lot at play when determining whether to enter a new market, a process Cecilia Qvist, our global head of markets, oversees diligently.

Cecilia heads Spotify’s international expansion and product localization efforts and is focused on the growth of users globally. We sat down with her to learn more about Spotify’s criteria for entering new markets.

1. What’s Spotify’s approach to market growth?

There are two natural ways for Spotify to grow: by increasing the number of users in our existing 65 markets and to expand into new territories. When it comes to the markets where Spotify is already live, we have a multitude of levers that we can pull along the entire user funnel, from creating awareness to acquiring new users to lifetime retention.

Let’s look at activation as an example. The moment a user opens the app for the first time, we need to make sure their expectations—from the sign-up flow, to general onboarding, to using our algorithm-based discovery tools—are met. These expectations are different from market to market and from user to user, and we are always looking to improve them. All these seemingly little adjustments go a long way in growing the user base sustainably.

On the other hand, we launched in four new markets earlier this year: Romania, Israel, Vietnam, and South Africa. Before launching, we looked at various macroeconomic and socio-demographic factors including things like size and health of the music industry and creator ecosystem, licensing landscape, smartphone penetration, quality of smartphones, consumer segments, and more.

2. How do you ensure that you enter new markets in a way that is both relevant and culturally appropriate?

We learned early on that one size does not fit all. Take Japan, for example, where we built a karaoke feature because this is what everybody expects from a streaming app there. But broadly speaking, we spend a lot of time in a market before we launch there, working with user researchers who produce diaries from different user types. We engage with the creators on the ground to understand how they would like us to participate in the market, and we conduct a lot of product tests to make sure we can bring the right features, language, and designs into the markets. The Spotify app is already built around personalization—each user gets a personalized experience from the beginning. If you register in Brazil, you will see Brazilian funk in the Browse section, whereas in the Philippines you would see our local hit playlist Pinoy Party.

On the Spotify for Artists blog, we speak about our goal to match every listener with the perfect music for them. That’s why we have a team of over 100 editors around the world—music experts and cultural ambassadors whose job is to spread the joy of music discovery everywhere from Brazil to Japan to Turkey.

3. How do you foresee music streaming evolving as it becomes more global?

Streaming and global go hand in hand. If you look 50 years back, very few bands had an international audience—think the Rolling Stones or the Beatles. However, if you look at music consumption on streaming platforms today, you see an eclectic mix of international artists being regularly played in each and every market we’re live in.

Take the Romanian-born artist INNA, who has most of her fans in Mexico, Turkey, and Spain. And finally, take K-pop as another example, where the likes of Psy and BTS have reached global hits because of music streaming. At Spotify, we see global distribution as a massive benefit for creators and users alike. Creators have access to more fans, and music aficionados can discover more music than ever before.

We recently launched our Global X playlist, an initiative by our Global Cultures team where you find an eclectic mix of songs from cultures around the world all in one spot, ready to be enjoyed by everyone everywhere. I think this just shows how diverse global streaming has become.

4. While Spotify is continuing to expand, what can customers in existing markets look forward to?

We’re always looking to improve our service, no matter where Spotify is live. I’m excited to see further advancements in the podcast ecosystem, where we have already celebrated big successes with original podcasts like Fest & Flauschig in Germany or Tlatelolco: la plaza en Movimiento in Mexico. As we continue to develop the platform, we will continue to evolve it by adding more unique content and improved services towards creators and users alike.

On the user front, we’re always looking to improving the music experience for all the fans out there. We’re also expanding beyond the core platform to offer “Fans First” events where fans can meet their artists in intimate live sessions. On the creator side, we have a full pipeline of useful tools that make it easier for them to manage their catalogs, understand their audiences, and generate additional revenues.

Music is an integral part of every culture. We’re dedicated to making sure everyone, from our users to our creators, can express themselves with the music that’s meaningful to them, wherever they are.

Spotify is available internationally in 65 markets and growing. Sign up today.