Streaming services see majority of streams from real music

The music industry is witnessing a staggering amount of new content being created every day, with over 100,000 songs submitted to streaming services daily. Despite this influx, real music still dominates our listening habits, making up the majority of streams on popular platforms.

This phenomenon is starkly illustrated by statistics from streaming service Deezer, which reveals that AI-generated music accounts for a mere 0.5% of its total streams. Meanwhile, Spotify has removed an impressive 75 million "spammy tracks from its catalogue, but this doesn't seem to have impacted the dominance of traditional music.

Independent analytics company Luminate has been tracking music streaming since 2008 and reported a striking trend in 2026: almost two-thirds of streamed music in both the UK and US was released five or more years ago. This suggests that listeners are increasingly favouring nostalgia over new releases.

In the UK, this preference for older music is evident in the charts, where 18 out of the top 20 bestselling songs were released 12 months ago or earlier.

The popularity of older songs is evident in the charts, where several decades-old hits continue to dominate the rankings. Zara Larsson's Lush Life, released in June 2015, has become this year's eighth biggest hit, while Michael Jackson's Billie Jean (1983) and Fleetwood Mac's Dreams (1977) are also high up on the list.

This trend suggests that music listeners are increasingly seeking out established classics, a phenomenon known as deep catalogue in the industry. In fact, older songs make up about 60% of streams in the R&B and Hip-Hop genres, which are among the most popular categories.

New releases often experience a surge in popularity when they debut, but this typically tapers off quickly. However, some songs have managed to defy this trend by dominating streaming for weeks or even months on end. For instance, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean's duet Rein Me In recently made chart history with its record-breaking 23 non-consecutive weeks at number one.

In the US, Ella Langley's Choosin' Texas has also achieved an impressive feat, becoming the longest-running number one in the country's chart history. Meanwhile, a staggering proportion of streams are generated by only the most successful artists, according to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority - nearly two thirds, in fact.

The music industry is grappling with a pressing issue: how to help artists sustain their careers beyond a single hit song.

Many musicians face challenges in promoting subsequent releases and building a loyal fan base after achieving initial success. They struggle to create meaningful connections with listeners who are increasingly drawn to viral moments rather than artist longevity.

According to J Erving, founder of Human Re Sources, the distribution company for Raye's music, fans have become more passive in their engagement with artists. He notes that it is now easier for people to be casual fans, only interested in a song rather than the artist behind it.

The music industry is working to address this problem by supporting emerging talent and encouraging deeper connections between artists and listeners.

Sofar Sounds is one of several organisations working to promote grassroots musicians by hosting intimate pop-up gigs in cities worldwide.

The Shoreditch Sofar Fringe festival last October featured a diverse range of artists, including East London rapper J Casa, who believes that live performances have the power to create lasting connections between audiences and new music.

In an era where content oversaturation is becoming increasingly prevalent, Casa suggests that people are more likely to form meaningful bonds with artists when they experience their music in person rather than through pre-existing playlists or recommendations.

Sofar Sounds has launched its Human Discovery Movement campaign, which seeks to reinvigorate the role of human curation and discovery in the music industry by putting music lovers back at the forefront of new music discovery.

Music enthusiasts can now engage with Sofar's tastemakers via a text messaging service that sends voice notes with recommendations for emerging artists from around the world.

The rise of algorithm-driven music streaming services has led to concerns that genuine music discovery and creatives' livelihoods are being undermined.

Critics argue that personalized playlists often rely on users' existing listening habits, resulting in repetitive recommendations rather than introducing new artists or styles. This approach can lead to a homogenization of musical tastes, where users are presented with a narrow range of familiar sounds.

Independent artist Chiminyo has observed this phenomenon firsthand while browsing through popular playlists on streaming platforms. He claims that many top featured" artists have unverified accounts and little information is available about them online, raising suspicions about their authenticity.

Furthermore, Chiminyo's trained ear detects a striking similarity in the sound quality across tracks by different artists within these playlists. He believes that this uniformity suggests mass-produced music, created using digital tools to replicate a specific style rather than genuine artistic expression.

This has sparked concerns about the impact of algorithm-driven curation on the music industry, with some arguing that it prioritizes quantity over quality and rewards producers who churn out generic sound-alikes over original artists.

Spotify has implemented platform-wide policies to tackle impersonation and is working to improve its filtering of AI-related issues. However, the company acknowledges that music production using AI exists on a spectrum, with some artists embracing it more than others.

This admission suggests that AI's influence in music creation is not going away anytime soon. As a result, new music faces significant challenges in competing for listeners' attention.