Hip-Hop is Officially the Most Popular Genre in the United States

Hip-hop is officially the most consumed genre of music in the United States.

This might not be surprising to music fans out there, but now there is compelling data to back that up. Nielsen Music has released its annual mid-year report. This report looks at the songs and albums that are being consumed the most.

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There are some interesting numbers, including the fact that Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN. was the most popular album of 2017 so far. But easily the most fascinating thing learned is, according to Forbes, the fact that hip-hop, combined with R&B, is the most popular genre in the United States. This is the first time this has happened since Nielsen has been tracking the numbers.

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Hip-hop overtook Rock music, which, according to Nielsen, still was the genre consumed the most until this year. This, in large part, is due to the rise of streaming. 

Here is a closer look at the numbers:

“R&B and hip-hop are now responsible for 25.1% of all music consumption in the U.S., while rock claims 23%. Looking at the rest of the numbers listed that dissect how people are consuming these styles of music, it’s clear that streaming is to thank for the swap in ranking. Rock is far and away the winner when it comes to album sales—the genre claims 40% of all album sales in the country—but the total number of records actually purchased dwindles every year, so while that percentage may remain steady or even climb, it’s not representative of how Americans are truly consuming music.”

SOURCE: Forbes