Tag: listening trends

Spotify Celebrates Ramadan With Listening Trends From Around the World

March 21, 2024

March marks the beginning of Ramadan, a cherished cultural event celebrated by Muslims worldwide. As families and communities come together to observe, contemplate, pray, and celebrate the Holy Month, they can also turn to Spotify for meaningful audio content. 

This year, our Ramadan hub is back with a blend of music and podcasts designed to foster self-reflection, wellness, and entertainment. When eligible listeners open the Spotify app, they’ll find carefully curated content for every mood and moment of Ramadan. Listeners will also find personalized content on the Your Ramadan 2024 playlist.

What does Ramadan sound like around the world on Spotify?

As Ramadan begins, many Muslims experience shifts in their daily routines, from work schedules to social interactions. Similarly, their Spotify listening habits also shift, as evidenced by our streaming data from 2023.

Our top finding? Audio was often used to set the tone as families and communities came together for suhoor, the predawn meal, with streaming spiking around 5 a.m. in most markets. Below, we unveil more 2023 listening trends across various markets to shed light on streaming patterns throughout the sacred month.

Egypt

  • Quran listening hours (audio consumption related to the central religious text of Islam, the Quran) spiked around 5 p.m. This aligns with iftar, the post-sunset, fast-breaking meal.
  • Before sunrise, listeners consumed more entertainment-based content.
  • A top podcast throughout the month: Finjan with Abdulrahman Abumalih. Hosted by Saudi journalist and TV presenter Abdulrahman Abumalih, Finjan covers a wide range of topics pertaining to the Middle East and North Africa.

Saudi Arabia

  • Quran listening hours surged around 8 a.m.
  • Before sunset, listeners consumed more spiritual and fitness-based podcast content. Before sunrise, preferred podcast genres included history and crime.
  • A top podcast throughout the month: Areeka. Hosted by Bibi AlAbdulmohsen and Talal Sam, Areeka mostly covers social topics, from psychology to common myths.

Indonesia

  • Generally, streaming spiked between 2 and 4 p.m., which aligns with ngabuburit, the waiting period before breaking fast.
  • Religion and spirituality-based podcasts were the most-consumed genre throughout the month.
  • Listeners gravitated toward well-being podcasts in the morning before shifting to music at night.

Spotify’s top Ramadan playlists

Our Ramadan hub contains a wide variety of curated playlists. In Egypt, the top Ramadan playlist of 2023 was Titrat Ramadan, which showcases soundtracks from the most popular Ramadan TV dramas.

In Saudi Arabia, listeners gravitated most toward Chill-oud. This playlist features songs played with the oud, a stringed musical instrument that is one of the oldest and most important instruments in Arabic culture.

Listeners in Indonesia favored the Your Ramadan 2023 playlist. This personalized playlist brings Spotify’s editorial and algorithmic worlds together to provide users with curated audio content that resonates with their respective Ramadan journeys.

Last but not least, the most-streamed Ramadan playlist in Pakistan was Hamd-o-Naat, which features devotional tracks for an immersive experience. “Naat” was also the country’s most-searched word during the Holy Month, reflecting a desire for poetic expressions of devotion and praise. Our Best of: Coke Studio Sufi playlist, which showcases Coke Studio’s top Sufi tracks, also saw 218% growth last year.

This year, Spotify remains dedicated to delivering a culturally resonant Ramadan experience for listeners around the world. For the ultimate audio companion throughout the sacred month, explore the Ramadan hub.

How To Celebrate Star Wars Day With Spotify

May 4, 2022

Calling all Jedi masters and young Padawans! You probably don’t need reminding that today is May the Fourth (aka Star Wars Day), but Spotify is here to help you celebrate by taking our Blend feature to a galaxy far, far away. You can now merge your musical taste with that of Yoda, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, or Princess Leia to create a shared playlist full of your favorite songs.

After you Blend with one of these iconic Star Wars heroes (or villain), you’ll receive a share card showing your taste-match scores and the song that brings you two together. You can then share the cards, which also reveal your listening preferences compared to the character, directly to Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, or Twitter.

The Christmas Hits That Are Trending on Spotify This Season

December 14, 2021

There’s no better way to get in the holiday spirit than by cranking up the festive tunes. From cheerful classics to jolly pop hits, we wanted to see what people are humming along to this season. After looking under the hood of Santa’s sleigh, here’s what we found when it comes to Spotify streaming.

Listeners were eager to get a jump-start on their merry music—Sunday, November 28 saw the most streams of Christmas music outside of the month of December. Mariah Carey’s 1994 pop hit “All I Want for Christmas Is You” continues to be a favorite—it recently hit 1 billion streams on Spotify. But that’s not the only woman-powered song that’s been accumulating some play time on listeners’ speakers. Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” took the top spot in the U.S. for the most-streamed Christmas song during the first week of December this year.

Looking at global listening over the past month (November 1 through December 9, 2021), we found that five familiar tunes are holding their place at the top of the Christmas tree—proving they are classics for a reason. Unsurprisingly, Mariah’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” is the most-streamed Christmas song on Spotify. The second most-streamed song is “Last Christmas” by Wham!, followed by Michael Bublé’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.” Rounding out the top spots are “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms and Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” This roundup comes as no surprise, as four of these songs are ranked in Spotify’s top five most-streamed Christmas songs of all time. 

If you’re looking for more contemporary Christmas songs to add to your playlist, the top five most-streamed Christmas tracks that have been released in the past five years are: “Snowman” by Sia, “White Christmas” by Amy Grant, “Santa’s Coming for Us” by Sia, “Hallelujah” by Pentatonix, and “Merry Christmas” by Ed Sheeran and Elton John.

We also decided to see what other Christmas tunes listeners are adding to their own user-generated playlists. Beyond the songs mentioned above, some of the most popular tracks include: “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber, “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (with The B. Swanson Quartet)” by Frank Sinatra, and “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” by Band Aid. 

The next time you sit down with your eggnog, make sure these Christmas hits are queued up. And if you’re looking for more, give the Spotify Singles: Holiday Collection playlist a listen.

The Game Awards’ Geoff Keighley Gives His Predictions for Tonight’s Awards and His Hopes for Future Audio Innovation

December 9, 2021

Audio is playing a bigger role than ever when it comes to video games—from introducing catchy anthems to influencing listening habits long after gamers log off. Music and video game enthusiasts alike will be able to see this firsthand tonight at The Game Awards as we reveal what gamers listened to most this year on Spotify. 

The festivities are a culmination of a year of video game–inspired listening. Gamers around the world have been able to enjoy Spotify-curated playlists for every gaming moment, with playlists like Top Gaming Tracks, Hip Hop Controller, and Soundscapes for Gaming, all gathered in the dedicated Gaming Hub. And earlier this year, we also joined forces with the Esports Summit, one of the biggest gaming events in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), as the official audio partner. Spotify’s music experts collaborated with gaming professionals to curate the summit’s official playlist.

Leading up to tonight’s ceremony, Game Awards Creator, Executive Producer, and Host Geoff Keighley launched an insightful podcast called Inside the Game Awards, available exclusively on Spotify. On the show, he welcomed guests including Tina Amini, Editor in Chief of IGN Entertainment, Jeff Gerstmann, founder of the website Giant Bomb, and Keza MacDonald, Video Games Editor at the Guardian, to give an inside look at the nominees, the world premieres, and the music. 

For an insider’s perspective on the awards, For the Record asked Geoff about his predictions, the role of music in the video game experience, and more.

What are you most looking forward to at The Game Awards?

We’re really excited to be back in person with a live event. I’m also looking forward to showing fans some of our world premieres, which are a real look at the next generation of gaming.

What prompted you to launch the podcast? What do you hope fans get out of the experience?

As a show producer, you always struggle with how to give fans context to the nominees and the show. You see all these amazing games on-screen but why is Resident Evil Village up for Game of the Year? Given the pace of our show, you never really get to explain that to the home viewers. The podcast is a great companion to the show to give listeners more insight into why certain games were nominated and how we build the show. 

In another big year for gaming, what’s been your 2021 gaming highlight?

That may be coming up at The Game Awards. We’re doing something really cool with Epic Games and Unreal Engine 5 around The Matrix. It’s called “The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience.” It’s something you’ll see at the show but actually get to experience alongside the show on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S.

Viewership of the awards grew by 84% last year! Why do you think the ceremony resonates with gamers?

We’re grateful for the viewership. It reflects the growth of gaming overall, and the global community. I think that’s why people tune in: They feel a part of something bigger than themselves and want to join in celebrating games as the most powerful form of entertainment. I really try to produce a show that is celebratory, looking back at the year that was and looking forward to what’s next.

The Game Awards orchestra is a big draw for viewers. What musical moments can viewers expect this year?

Sting will be performing his incredible song from Arcane, “What Could Have Been”—and he’s doing it with our Game Awards orchestra! We will also have a very special performance from Imagine Dragons, along with some very special guests from the video game world. And, of course, orchestral music will be a big part of the show. Lorne Balfe is back as our musical director and we will be playing LOTS of video game music.

Spotify is sharing what gamers streamed the most this year. How does music impact the gaming experience?

Music is such a key part of gaming. It always has been, and we see it with our show. Fans love the live orchestra. I think we all have memories of a key scene or moment in a game that was elevated by music. For me, that moment was “Far Away” from José Gonzáles in Red Dead Redemption. It was the perfect song at the perfect moment. In many ways, I wish more artists would write original songs and music for games.

Do you have a favorite gaming track or song?

I’m very partial to the theme song from The Secret of Monkey Island. That and the theme song for the adventure game Gabriel Knight! Those are two of my favorites I often listen to on Spotify just for fun.

Why do you think audio is playing a bigger role in gaming and esports? Do you predict this trend will continue?

Absolutely, audio is a vital part of the gaming experience—I think we all dream of live audio experiences, like when your radio station in-game is actually updated live in real time with Spotify playlists. That’s my dream: To have a live-service audio experience in a game that constantly evolves.

Don’t miss tonight’s Game Awards with Geoff at 4:30 pm PT / 7:30 pm ET / 12:30 am GMT. Until then, check out Geoff’s Wrapped playlist.

This International Podcast Day, Let Us Help You Find Your Perfect Pod

September 30, 2021

Creators worldwide have been busy this year chasing audio inspiration—and in the process have added nearly 1.5 million podcast titles to Spotify over the past year. So this International Podcast Day, there’s quite a lot to celebrate.

Leading the storytelling charge are Taiwan, Colombia, Japan, Spain, Peru, India, Turkey, the Philippines, France, Poland, Argentina, Italy, and the Netherlands. These 13 markets showed the largest growth in their catalog offerings in the last year, with new podcasts across all sorts of genres, topics, and themes. 

And this global audio boom shows no signs of slowing down, which is exciting news for listeners, who have more options than ever to fit their tastes. But our growing catalog also poses a challenge for newbies and audio experts alike as they try to narrow down the next track or even the first episode to add to their queue.

So to celebrate International Podcast Day this year, we’re making the choice simple with our Find the One experience. Answer a handful of questions and let us help you find your perfect podcast match. The experience is available to listeners in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, and Australia and gives recommendations inspired by your Spotify listening habits.

But that’s not the only way to discover new podcasts tailored to your tastes. Though each user is unique, we have found that some listeners who share a favorite artist also share a favorite podcast. We followed the data . . . and found some of the shows hitting all the right notes.

Many fans of snappy rhymes and rhythm are drawn to . . . horoscopes, gaming, and comedy.

For plenty of listeners, pop melodies and talk shows go hand-in-hand.

Rock ‘n rollers are hard to pin down.

Country fans are hooked on the world around them.

Plus, we noticed a few patterns across our listeners.

These are just a few of the most popular podcasts among some of our artists’ listeners. For those in search of something new, Spotify also has plenty of podcasts to enjoy this season, so be sure to mark your calendars.

Launching this week:

Bonus: Today at 6 PM EST, Spotify Greenroom will close the day with listeners’ favorite podcasts with hosts Gigi Robinson and Jayson Buford. Sign up for Greenroom to tune in and follow your favorite shows here.

Now it’s time to find your next favorite show. Celebrate International Podcast Day by exploring the “Find the One” experience for a personalized podcast recommendation.