Tag: Veigh

Spotify’s RADAR Program Brings a Fresh Look and New Stories From Global Artists, Songwriters, and Podcasters

October 5, 2023

Cover Image for RADAR

Since 2020, RADAR has been the global home for what’s next in sound, lifting up rising artists, burgeoning songwriters, and promising podcasters as they develop and expand their global reach on the path to superstardom. To best represent the wide breadth of RADAR and strengthen its commitment to bringing emerging talent to the forefront, we’re taking a step forward in our journey of inviting listeners to witness the future of music, songwriting, and podcasting by bringing them into the creator’s world.

Starting today you’ll notice RADAR’s new look gracing the program’s global collection of playlists, as well as billboards, platform marketing, and social content. Feturing a distinctive paper cutout visual identity, RADAR will put a strong focus on bringing rich storytelling to the mix in addition to a prominent feature on the RADAR playlists. With videos that show  who tomorrow’s stars are, what inspires them, and what keeps them going, listeners can step into the world of their new favorite creators. 

“We’re thrilled to introduce audiences to the future of music, songwriting, and podcasts with this new campaign,” Hannah Beeching, Global Music Programs Lead at Spotify, tells For the Record. “RADAR originally started as a way to support emerging artists and has now expanded to include songwriters and podcasters from around the world. The program gives creators a global platform to help grow their careers and reach new and existing fans through bespoke social content, marketing, and editorial opportunities.” 

Featuring a roster of over 700 artists across 183 countries since its inception, Spotify’s RADAR program has helped showcase what’s next in the world of music, lifting up the very best in global songwriting and performing talent. In recent years, we’ve been proud to support RADAR alumni like Libianca, Alessandro La Cava, Veigh, Shermanology, Tyla, NMIXX, and one of the hottest stars on the planet, Peso Pluma. 

“Songwriters are the heart of the music industry, and we’re proud to bring greater visibility to their craft with RADAR Songwriters,” says Jacqueline Ankner, Songwriter & Publishing Relations Manager at Spotify. “We’ve introduced international hitmakers such as Ines Dunn, Natali Noor, Alessandro La Cava, Beach Noise, and more to new fans globally. We’re excited to continue to elevate the next generation of songwriting superstars with RADAR.”

Nearly a Quarter of All Streams on Spotify Are Hip-Hop. Spotify’s Global Editors Reflect on the Genre’s Growth

August 10, 2023

As hip-hop turns 50, fans around the world are celebrating its golden anniversary. For a genre that started at a block party in the Bronx, this milestone is a testament to the massive impact and influence hip-hop has had in virtually every corner of the globe.

And today on Spotify, hip-hop is thriving, with artists and fans from around the world discovering and connecting with one another. In 2023, nearly a quarter of all streams on Spotify globally are hip-hop music, led by artists like Drake, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, Ice Spice, and Metro Boomin.

But it goes further than that . . . 

  • Hip-hop is one of the most-listened-to genres globally on Spotify, and more than 400 million users around the world have streamed hip-hop music in 2023 so far.
  • RapCaviar ranks as the second most-followed playlist on Spotify. 
  • Around the globe, there are over 53 million user-generated and Spotify-curated playlists on Spotify that mention hip-hop or rap in the title of the playlist, and over 2 billion playlists that contain at least one hip-hop song. 
  • For the past three years, almost half of Spotify’s Top 50 most-streamed artists globally have been hip-hop or rap artists. 

One of the most distinct aspects of hip-hop culture is its regionality, with the unique sounds coming out of local U.S. scenes like New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Miami helping one of the most dynamic genres in the world flourish.

That’s why we’re celebrating these iconic regions with a series of original murals created by Raj Dhunna. 

Quase um quarto de todos os streams no Spotify são para o Hip Hop. Os editores globais do Spotify refletem sobre o crescimento do gênero

August 10, 2023

Quando o Hip Hop completa 50 anos, fãs de todo o mundo comemoram suas bodas de ouro. Para um gênero que teve um começo inesperado em um parque do Bronx, este marco é uma prova do enorme impacto e influência que o Hip Hop teve em praticamente todos os cantos do globo.

E hoje no Spotify, o Hip Hop está mais forte do que nunca, com artistas e fãs de todo o mundo se descobrindo e se conectando. Em 2023, quase um quarto de todas os streams no Spotify globalmente foram para músicas de Hip Hop, lideradas por artistas como Drake, Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, Ice Spice e Metro Boomin.

Mas, vai além disso… 

  • O Hip Hop é o segundo gênero mais popular globalmente no Spotify, e mais de 400 milhões de usuários em todo o mundo escutaram música Hip Hop em 2023 até agora.
  • RapCaviar é a segunda playlist com maior número de seguidores no Spotify. 
  • Em todo o mundo, existem mais de 53 milhões de playlists editoriais e geradas por usuários no Spotify que mencionam Hip Hop ou Rap no título, e mais de 2 bilhões de playlists que contêm pelo menos uma música de Hip Hop.
  • Nos últimos três anos, quase metade dos 50 artistas mais escutados no Spotify em todo o mundo são artistas de Hip Hop ou Rap.

Um dos aspectos mais distintos da cultura Hip Hop é sua regionalidade, com sons únicos vindos de cenas locais dos Estados Unidos, como Nova York, Atlanta, Los Angeles e Miami, ajudando um dos gêneros mais dinâmicos do mundo a florescer.

É por isso que celebramos essas regiões icônicas com uma série de murais originais criados por Raj Dhunna.

Brazil’s Urban Culture Is Thriving—And So Is Its Music

October 6, 2022

The artist Veigh poses in front of a wall covered in graffiti

Around the globe we’ve seen hip-hop and trap artists dominate the charts, and recently in Brazil, the already diverse and far-reaching sounds of urbano music have only gotten bigger. With urbano’s thriving culture and ever-growing roster of artists, its listenership in the country is at an all-time high. 

Hip-hop, trap, and pop make up the majority of the tracks and artists represented within urbano music, but artists pull inspiration from a wide range of genres that include funk carioca, funk ostentação, and R&B. 

Spotify has been supporting the call for more Brazilian urbano music by becoming the official partner of Brazil’s only trap festival, CENA 2k22, as well as partnering with Red Bull FrancaMente, the world’s largest rap competition. And almost two years ago, Spotify introduced the creme playlist, which celebrates the massive and diverse talent of Brazil’s urbano culture and how it pushes the boundaries of genres, cultures, and borders. Listenership of urbano music is up, particularly with Brazilian trap, which has seen Spotify streams increase by 33% in the past two years in Brazil alone.

Spotify has also featured some of the best up-and-coming artists in the urbano scene through RADAR, a program that represents Spotify’s commitment to new and emerging artists from all over the world. Through the RADAR Global playlist, artists like Rio de Janeiro’s N.I.N.A and São Paulo’s Veigh are bringing their unique rap and trap sounds to the world stage. 

“The growth of urban culture coincides with a period of intense social transformation in Brazil, with the empowerment and rise of audiences that, until recently, were not represented,” says Ellen Rocha, Marketing Manager of Spotify Brazil. “Artists of genres that encompass urban culture are spokespersons for a generation of young people—an audience that asks for personality and authenticity and that absorbs and reflects culture not only in speech, but also in the way they behave and dress.” 

For the Record sat down with RADAR-featured artists N.I.N.A and Veigh to talk about the rise of trap music in Brazil. 

The artist N.I.N.A poses in a studio in front of a white backdrop holding a snake

N.I.N.A

Rap and trap music have been on the rise in Brazil lately—why do you think so many listeners are drawn to these genres? 

N.I.N.A: The music is always renewed. Year after year we see our youth consuming a new style, having a new face, dancing with new moves . . . rap has always been very communicative, and I think this rise comes from the identification and plurality that rap and trap bring.

Veigh: Trap ends up attracting a lot of listeners, and it’s an aspect of rap that has been popular for a long time both inside and on the outskirts! It also has a strong connection with funk, and I think a lot of young people identify with that genre.

In what ways have you seen urban culture really grow and influence parts of life in Brazil? 

N.I.N.A: Those who come from the favela know the lives that urban culture impacts. There are several projects to rescue lives through music, and it’s where our talents are born. I’ve seen the art, culture, and music of the periphery save lives many times—including mine.

Veigh: I saw the culture grow inside where I live, where many portrayed the reality of that place through letters and other types of art. The culture ends up expanding to the whole world! 

Veigh

What was your experience like being a part of the RADAR program?

N.I.N.A: RADAR boosted my work in ways I couldn’t even imagine. Today I have a diverse audience that came from extremely different strands of drill, which is what I do. It was a great door-opening for me. I am extremely grateful and happy to be part of RADAR’s history!

Veigh: It was a very important milestone for me and for my people (Itapevi in the west zone of São Paulo), where many saw me on RADAR and believed it could be them soon. Being in a place where a lot of artists, whom I am personally a fan of, have passed through is amazing for me! 

The RADAR experience has taken my sound to bigger places and my art to more people! We know how difficult it is sometimes for our music to reach certain places. 

Celebrate the rise in urban Brazilian music by listening to the creme playlist: