Trends in Music Genre Popularity Over Time (2000–2022)

Music streaming platforms have fundamentally changed how people discover, consume, and engage with music. As a result, the popularity of different music genres has shifted significantly over time, reflecting changes in technology, culture, and listening habits. This webpage explores how the popularity of major music genres has evolved from 2000 to 2022 using a dataset derived from Spotify.

Spotify logo
Data extracted from Spotify

The primary goal of this page is to help users understand long-term trends in music genre popularity rather than focusing on individual songs or artists. By examining aggregated popularity scores across years and genres, users can gain insight into which genres have grown, declined, or remained stable in the streaming era.

This page is designed for users who are interested in music trends, data-driven cultural analysis, or the impact of streaming platforms on mainstream music. The dataset is presented in two forms: a reduced sample of the original track-level data to provide context, and a summarized table that highlights yearly popularity trends by genre. Together, these views support a clearer understanding of how musical preferences have changed over time.

year track_name track_popularity artist_name artist_genres main_genre artist_popularity danceability energy liveness valence tempo duration_ms
2000 Yellow 91 Coldplay ['permanent wave', 'pop'] Pop 86 0.429 0.661 0.234 0.285 173.372 266773
2000 All The Small Things 84 blink-182 ['alternative metal', 'modern rock', 'pop punk', 'punk', 'rock', 'socal   pop punk'] Pop 75 0.434 0.897 0.612 0.684 148.726 167067
2000 Breathe 69 Faith Hill ['contemporary country', 'country', 'country dawn', 'country road'] Other 61 0.529 0.496 0.251 0.278 136.859 250547
2000 In the End 88 Linkin Park ['alternative metal', 'nu metal', 'post-grunge', 'rap metal', 'rock'] Rock 83 0.556 0.864 0.209 0.4 105.143 216880
2000 Bye Bye Bye 74 *NSYNC ['boy band', 'dance pop', 'pop'] Pop 65 0.61 0.926 0.0821 0.861 172.638 200400
2000 Thong Song 73 Sisqo ['contemporary r&b', 'dirty south rap', 'hip pop', 'r&b', 'urban   contemporary'] Pop 56 0.706 0.888 0.07 0.714 121.549 253733
2000 The Real Slim Shady 88 Eminem ['detroit hip hop', 'hip hop', 'rap'] Hip-hop 88 0.949 0.661 0.0454 0.76 104.504 284200
2000 Rock DJ 57 Robbie Williams ['dance rock', 'europop'] Pop 69 0.712 0.762 0.0981 0.842 103.032 260560
2000 Say My Name 80 Destiny's Child ['dance pop', 'girl group', 'pop', 'r&b', 'urban contemporary'] Pop 69 0.713 0.678 0.149 0.734 138.009 271333
2000 Otherside 83 Red Hot Chili Peppers ['alternative rock', 'funk metal', 'funk rock', 'permanent wave', 'rock'] Rock 80 0.458 0.795 0.0756 0.513 123.229 255373
2005 We Belong Together 73 Mariah Carey ['dance pop', 'pop', 'urban contemporary'] Pop 76 0.837 0.462 0.09 0.762 139.986 201400
2005 Let Me Love You 76 Mario ['dance pop', 'r&b', 'southern hip hop', 'urban contemporary'] Pop 64 0.656 0.578 0.118 0.556 94.514 256733
2005 Gold Digger 82 Kanye West ['chicago rap', 'hip hop', 'rap'] Hip-hop 89 0.629 0.696 0.0554 0.623 93.034 207627
2005 Pon de Replay 81 Rihanna ['barbadian pop', 'pop', 'urban contemporary'] Pop 87 0.779 0.64 0.101 0.498 99.019 246960
2005 Mockingbird 90 Eminem ['detroit hip hop', 'hip hop', 'rap'] Hip-hop 88 0.637 0.678 0.156 0.254 84.039 250760
2005 You're Beautiful 78 James Blunt ['neo mellow', 'pop rock'] Pop 69 0.675 0.479 0.088 0.454 81.998 209493
2005 Boulevard of Broken Dreams 80 Green Day ['modern rock', 'permanent wave', 'punk', 'rock'] Rock 78 0.496 0.682 0.0589 0.474 167.06 262333
2005 Don't Cha 70 The Pussycat Dolls ['dance pop', 'girl group', 'pop'] Pop 67 0.877 0.637 0.0959 0.569 119.988 272080
2005 Bad Day 77 Daniel Powter ['canadian pop', 'neo mellow', 'pop rock'] Pop 57 0.599 0.785 0.151 0.52 140.046 233640
2005 Feel Good Inc. 85 Gorillaz ['alternative hip hop', 'modern rock', 'rock'] Rock 77 0.818 0.705 0.613 0.772 138.559 222640
2010 Just the Way You Are 86 Bruno Mars ['dance pop', 'pop'] Pop 86 0.635 0.841 0.0622 0.424 109.021 220734
2010 Love The Way You Lie 85 Eminem ['detroit hip hop', 'hip hop', 'rap'] Hip-hop 88 0.749 0.925 0.52 0.641 86.989 263373
2010 Hey, Soul Sister 85 Train ['dance pop', 'neo mellow', 'pop', 'pop rock'] Pop 71 0.673 0.886 0.0826 0.795 97.012 216773
2010 Alors on danse - Radio Edit 80 Stromae ['belgian pop', 'g-house'] Pop 69 0.791 0.59 0.065 0.714 119.951 206067
2010 TiK ToK 84 Kesha ['dance pop', 'pop'] Pop 74 0.755 0.837 0.289 0.714 120.028 199693
2010 Memories (feat. Kid Cudi) 70 David Guetta ['big room', 'dance pop', 'edm', 'pop', 'pop dance'] Pop 86 0.561 0.87 0.246 0.498 129.98 210093
2010 Dynamite 79 Taio Cruz ['dance pop', 'pop', 'pop rap'] Pop 67 0.751 0.783 0.036 0.816 119.975 202613
2010 Only Girl (In The World) 84 Rihanna ['barbadian pop', 'pop', 'urban contemporary'] Pop 87 0.789 0.706 0.0586 0.638 125.911 235493
2010 California Gurls 77 Katy Perry ['pop'] Pop 82 0.791 0.754 0.163 0.425 125.014 234653
2010 Baby 83 Justin Bieber ['canadian pop', 'pop'] Pop 87 0.728 0.859 0.111 0.535 65.043 214240
2015 Uptown Funk (feat. Bruno Mars) 85 Mark Ronson ['pop soul'] Pop 72 0.856 0.609 0.0344 0.928 114.988 269667
2015 Thinking out Loud 85 Ed Sheeran ['pop', 'singer-songwriter pop', 'uk pop'] Pop 87 0.781 0.445 0.184 0.591 78.998 281560
2015 See You Again (feat. Charlie Puth) 85 Wiz Khalifa ['hip hop', 'pittsburgh rap', 'pop rap', 'rap', 'southern hip hop',   'trap'] Pop 79 0.689 0.481 0.0649 0.283 80.025 229526
2015 What Do You Mean? 80 Justin Bieber ['canadian pop', 'pop'] Pop 87 0.845 0.567 0.0811 0.793 125.02 205680
2015 Lean On 77 Major Lazer ['dance pop', 'edm', 'electro house', 'moombahton', 'pop', 'pop dance'] Pop 73 0.723 0.809 0.565 0.274 98.007 176561
2015 Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey) - From The "Fifty Shades Of   Grey" Soundtrack 77 The Weeknd ['canadian contemporary r&b', 'canadian pop', 'pop'] Pop 94 0.659 0.381 0.0972 0.426 119.844 252227
2015 Love Me Like You Do - From "Fifty Shades Of Grey" 80 Ellie Goulding ['indietronica', 'metropopolis', 'pop', 'uk pop'] Pop 78 0.262 0.606 0.125 0.275 189.857 252534
2015 The Nights 88 Avicii ['edm', 'pop', 'pop dance'] Pop 79 0.527 0.835 0.249 0.654 125.983 176658
2015 The Less I Know The Better 87 Tame Impala ['australian psych', 'modern rock', 'neo-psychedelic', 'rock'] Rock 78 0.64 0.74 0.167 0.785 116.879 216320
2015 Daddy Issues 86 The Neighbourhood ['modern alternative rock', 'modern rock', 'pop'] Pop 81 0.588 0.521 0.123 0.337 85.012 260173
2022 As It Was 90 Harry Styles ['pop'] Pop 85 0.52 0.731 0.311 0.662 173.93 167303
2022 Tití Me Preguntó 88 Bad Bunny ['reggaeton', 'trap latino', 'urbano latino'] Hip-hop 94 0.65 0.715 0.126 0.187 106.672 243717
2022 Anti-Hero 93 Taylor Swift ['pop'] Pop 100 0.637 0.643 0.142 0.533 97.008 200690
2022 Unholy (feat. Kim Petras) 87 Sam Smith ['pop', 'uk pop'] Pop 83 0.714 0.472 0.266 0.238 131.121 156943
2022 Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - 2018 Remaster 28 Kate Bush ['art pop', 'art rock', 'baroque pop', 'new wave pop', 'permanent wave',   'piano rock', 'singer-songwriter'] Pop 67 0.625 0.533 0.0546 0.139 108.296 300840
2022 Glimpse of Us 85 Joji ['viral pop'] Pop 79 0.44 0.317 0.141 0.268 169.914 233456
2022 CUFF IT 87 Beyoncé ['pop', 'r&b'] Pop 85 0.78 0.689 0.0698 0.642 115.042 225389
2022 First Class 24 Jack Harlow ['deep underground hip hop', 'kentucky hip hop', 'pop rap', 'rap'] Pop 77 0.905 0.563 0.113 0.324 106.998 173948
2022 Heat Waves 40 Glass Animals ['gauze pop', 'indietronica', 'modern rock', 'pov: indie', 'shiver pop'] Pop 74 0.761 0.525 0.0921 0.531 80.87 238805
2022 Bad Habit 84 Steve Lacy ['afrofuturism'] Other 79 0.686 0.494 0.402 0.7 168.946 232067
# Table 1. Sample of the reduced original dataset showing key track attributes.

Glossary of key terms

year
The release year of this track.
track_name
The title of the track.
track_popularity
A Spotify-generated score (0–100) representing the relative popularity of a track.
artist_name
The name of the artist associated with the track.
artist_genres
A list of genre labels assigned to the artist by Spotify.
main_genre
A broader genre category derived from artist genres for analysis purposes.
artist_popularity
A Spotify-generated score indicating the overall popularity of an artist.
danceability
A measure of how suitable a track is for dancing based on rhythm and beat.
energy
A measure of a track’s intensity and activity level.
liveness
A measure of the likelihood that the track was performed live.
valence
A measure of the musical positiveness conveyed by a track.
tempo
The speed of a track measured in beats per minute (BPM).
duration_ms
The duration of the track measured in milliseconds.
time_signature
The time signature of the track indicating beats per measure.

Overview of Popularity Trends

The table below presents the average track popularity for major music genres from 2000 to 2022. Each value represents the mean of Spotify’s track popularity scores for songs released in a given year and categorized under a specific genre. Although the table does not explicitly include the label “Track_popularity (average)” as a column header, all numerical values shown are calculated as yearly averages rather than individual song scores.

This aggregated view allows users to compare long-term popularity trends across genres such as Pop, Hip-hop, Rock, and R&B, while reducing the noise of track-level variation. Empty cells indicate years in which insufficient data was available for a particular genre, and therefore no average value was calculated.

Year EDM Hip-hop Other Pop R&B Rock danceability energy liveness valence tempo duration_ms
2000 69.40 68.50 64.85 65.02 62.25 70.89 0.429 0.661 0.234 0.285 173.372 266773
2001 59.80 67.36 64.42 68.88 62.20 72.91 0.434 0.897 0.612 0.684 148.726 167067
2002 65.00 68.67 63.82 64.96 62.00 72.14 0.529 0.496 0.251 0.278 136.859 250547
2003 62.00 58.11 64.55 63.57 61.33 73.00 0.556 0.864 0.209 0.4 105.143 216880
2004 65.50 68.00 65.83 66.91 59.00 77.00 0.61 0.926 0.0821 0.861 172.638 200400
2005 66.00 69.00 67.33 69.04 60.00 71.92 0.706 0.888 0.07 0.714 121.549 253733
2006 69.33 66.62 65.25 67.87 70.00 68.33 0.949 0.661 0.0454 0.76 104.504 284200
2007 68.50 66.88 60.50 69.21 72.50 75.11 0.712 0.762 0.0981 0.842 103.032 260560
2008 72.44 68.33 71.09 70.50 74.11 0.713 0.678 0.149 0.734 138.009 271333
2009 73.00 60.29 70.49 63.00 73.36 0.458 0.795 0.0756 0.513 123.229 255373
2010 59.00 77.67 61.00 69.08 76.00 0.837 0.462 0.09 0.762 139.986 201400
2011 64.00 65.80 58.00 72.06 89.00 75.80 0.656 0.578 0.118 0.556 94.514 256733
2012 73.00 71.60 69.00 73.47 71.00 73.67 0.629 0.696 0.0554 0.623 93.034 207627
2013 73.00 76.67 66.00 73.69 60.00 80.60 0.779 0.64 0.101 0.498 99.019 246960
2014 69.00 70.50 78.00 73.93 83.00 71.00 0.637 0.678 0.156 0.254 84.039 250760
2015 78.25 73.33 76.51 78.20 0.675 0.479 0.088 0.454 81.998 209493
2016 77.50 78.33 74.00 75.88 70.00 73.00 0.496 0.682 0.0589 0.474 167.06 262333
2017 80.33 78.87 78.00 77.00 0.877 0.637 0.0959 0.569 119.988 272080
2018 81.00 76.56 71.67 76.15 75.00 0.599 0.785 0.151 0.52 140.046 233640
2019 76.45 75.25 77.74 75.00 0.818 0.705 0.613 0.772 138.559 222640
2020 65.68 66.47 77.00 0.635 0.841 0.0622 0.424 109.021 220734
2021 71.13 64.88 82.00 86.00 0.749 0.925 0.52 0.641 86.989 263373
2022 72.69 65.11 76.25 75.50 0.673 0.886 0.0826 0.795 97.012 216773
2022 72.69 65.11 76.25 75.50 0.791 0.59 0.065 0.714 119.951 206067
# Empty cells indicate years in which there were not enough tracks available for a specific genre to calculate a reliable average popularity score.

Trend Analysis: Post-2010 Genre Shifts

From 2010 to 2022, musical trends have evolved significantly. Although the energy and emotion indices as well as popularity data for EDM and Pop have fluctuated to some extent over the 22-year period, both genres ultimately remain the highest among all genres. Melodic Rap maintains a balanced appeal, and overall artist and track popularity highlight diverse audience tastes. This repository captures the dynamic journey of these genres over the years, offering a snapshot of the changing music landscape.

Genre popularity trends after 2010
Genre popularity trends after 2010