Which music genres had the most plays on SoundCloud in 2022?
Image Credit: SoundCloud
The most popular music on SoundCloud this year is being showcased by the platform in its end of 2022 round-up. Find the top 10 genres here.
Like most streaming services, SoundCloud is wrapping up 2022 with a look back over the rising genres and artists on the platform. The review specifically considers which subgenres the most-viewed songs on SoundCloud in 2022 fall into, identifying the trends that not only dominated the year but also look set to keep growing more popular in 2023.
In the end of year recap, SoundCloud said there’s 320 million tracks on SoundCloud, with 150 million fans listening to 40 million artists. So what subgenres are most-listened to on Soundcloud?
According to SoundCloud Look Up, a short video released to mark the end-of-year replay, here’s the top 10 genres, in no particular order.
Top 10 most-popular rising music genres on SoundCloud in 2022
Afrobeats
West African in origin, Afrobeats has spread around the globe and will still be growing on SoundCloud in 2023.
US Drill
Not to be confused with UK Drill. US Drill typically features heavy 808s and rapid hi-hats.
Brazil Funk
Also known as Baile Funk. Mixing hip-hop culture and Jamaican soundsystem, with influences like samba, capoeira, and football chants.
Plugg
Plugg uploads increased 75% from 2021. The music is characterised by simple chords, 808s, and repetitive melodies.
Jersey Club
Coming out of New Jersey in the late 2000s, Jersey Club has high-tempo energetic beats and triplet kick drums that influenced Drake and others.
Phonk
One of the most popular genres on SoundCloud, Phonk streams were up 353% on 2021. Coming from the Memphis underground rap scene, there’s sub-subgenres of Phonk like lo-fi and House Phonk, away from the typical dark lyrics and cowbell of the core genre.
UK Dance
In 2022 in the UK Dance overtook hip-hop as the biggest genre on SoundCloud. That interest was also seen in the clubs and on the radio, with dance tracks topping SoundCloud charts then going mainstream. Faster beats were common, a change from 2021. Was this a result of the residual pent-up energy from the lockdowns of the pandemic?
Industrial Techno
SoundCloud users can’t get enough of intense Industrial Techno. Interestingly, BPMs have gone up by 10% since 2018.
Digicore
Initially Digicore came from the hyperpop scene. It’s a better name for a multi-faceted genre, although still often rejected by a music community who prefer to avoid concrete labels.
Socal Soul
Coming out of California, Socal Soul is a smorgasbord of soul, hip-hop, and jazz.
As part of the year round up, SoundCloud provided a cool map of the main genres of 2022, showing how subgenres and microgenres feed into each other and birth new types of music:
Looking for your own 2022 SoundCloud Playback? Find it here.