For the first time ever, Hip Hop/Rap/R&B music has become the most popular genre.
Rock, the music of choice for more than 50 years, has been relegated to number two, according to Neilson Music’s end of the year report.
As Don McLean prophesied so long ago in the rock classic, “American Pie,” is this the day that music died?
“No, of course, rock is not dead,” laughs David Bakula, Senior Vice President of Industry Insights at Nielson Entertainment. “There’s still a lot of consumption. Rock is still the second most popular genre.”
Streaming and downloading have completely changed the music industry and how we measure popularity of songs and artists. Eight of the top 10 artists, based on sales, downloads and streams, come from the R&B/Hip Hop genre.
Drake was the top artist, followed by Kendrick Lamar.
“It’s just a little tell-tale sign of the shift in music and how hip hop really by far has become the most popular genre of music on streaming services,” Bakula tells KTRH News.
Ed Sheeran’s Divide was the top album of 2017, while Taylor Swift’s Reputation screamed up quickly to grab the number two spot.
Despacito was the number one song of the year.