Ten years in the past, Spotify launched in Italy and Poland, and we started our work to interact with native inventive expertise and the neighborhood by means of Spotify packages, festivals, and occasions. Since then, creators from each markets have seen super progress in native and worldwide listenership. Whether it’s Rhove and Måneskin in Italy or Marissa and Sara James in Poland, artists in each markets are representing their homelands domestically and on the worldwide stage. And we will’t assist however increase a glass to a stable decade of achievements.
Along with the expansion in native music, there’s an ever-growing urge for food for discuss as effectively. Since launching podcasts in Italy 2015, we’ve seen the variety of creator-generated exhibits improve by a mean of 20% yr over yr available in the market. Today, greater than 50,000 titles can be found, together with hit exhibits like Muschio Selvaggio, The Essential, and Demoni Urbani.
To have a good time this landmark birthday in Poland and Italy, For the Record caught up with Melanie Parejo, Spotify Head of Music for Southern and Eastern Europe, and Mateusz Smółka, Spotify Music Team Lead for Eastern Europe and Southern and Eastern Europe, to speak in regards to the hit tracks, scorching tendencies, and progress each markets have skilled over the previous 10 years.
ITALY
When Spotify Italy launched in 2013, there have been 26,000 Italian artists on the platform and 180 million streams globally amongst them. How have we seen these numbers develop?
Melanie Parejo: Italy has at all times had a powerful affection towards their native skills, and with 196,000 Italian artists accessible on Spotify as of 2022, it’s clear to see the power that native music has within the Italian market. In phrases of worldwide listenership, after our first 5 years available in the market, Italian artists have been performed on Spotify editorial playlists outdoors of Italy 800% greater than after we launched. After 10 years, that quantity has elevated to 1,000%, with Måneskin being the largest export.
What are a few of Spotify Italy’s best music achievements from the previous 10 years?
Twenty-two Italian artists have participated in Spotify’s RADAR program since its launch in 2020. Artists like BLANCO, Rondodasosa, and ARIETE have seen significantly robust progress on the platform, with BLANCO happening to win final yr’s Festival di Sanremo and beating Italy’s document for the most-streamed tune in sooner or later, along with Mahmood.
Emerging artists who’ve been included in RADAR have additionally achieved nice mainstream success. Rhove, who was a featured RADAR Global artist, had Italy’s second-most-streamed tune of 2022, with “Shakerando.”
Genre-wise, what have been among the most enjoyable adjustments in Italian music since 2013?
When we take a look at the streaming habits of the youthful technology, they’ve a extra fluid relationship to genres. They are much less occupied with sticking to 1 style and figuring out with it. Instead, we see them stream songs that span completely different a long time and kinds.
That stated, the general music tastes of Italians have developed a lot over time. Back in 2013, the most-streamed style in Italy was rock, with Italian rap not even within the Top 10. But in 2022, Italian rap was the most-streamed style within the nation. When it involves rap from different international locations, a big variety of Gen Z artists have shifted their important level of reference from the U.S. to the U.Okay. and France. They are inclined to mix languages and cultures of their songs, tapping into an id and tradition far more than when rap initially broke by means of right here in 2016.
Summer hits have at all times been an integral a part of Italian music consumption, however in recent times we’ve seen them turn into extra various in sound. While they beforehand adopted a traditional construction (carefree, joyful, Latin-infused pop tracks relating a bunch of summer-related clichés), 2022 summer season hits have been a melting pot of sounds, artists, and moods. From BLANCO to Fedez to Capo Plaza to Rhove, what we noticed and heard final yr was a inventive freedom we weren’t used to.
Spotify Italy initially launched throughout the Festival di Sanremo. What affect does the competition have on Spotify?
Spotify actually lives facet by facet with Sanremo. When the lights are out after the ultimate day of the competition, Italians take heed to their favourite songs on Spotify to remain within the Sanremo spirit. This yr was an awesome instance of that, with the official Sanremo 2023 playlist being the second-most-streamed playlist worldwide for one week. Locally, Sanremo songs dominated the Top 10 and Top 20 charts in Italy throughout the competition, with six songs from the competition having made it into the Global Debut Songs chart.
POLAND
How have music tastes within the nation modified within the 10 years since Spotify Poland launched?
Mateusz Smółka: Massively! When we launched in Poland, the Top 10 artists in Poland have been worldwide artists. There have been solely 5 Polish artists on all the Top 100 listing that yr. Looking again, worldwide artists managed the highest three spots till about 2017. But in 2018, we noticed the rise of Polish artists, most notably when the Taco Hemingway and Quebonafide collaboration, TACONAFIDE, and Dawid Podsiadło took the highest spots. Since then, Polish artists have been within the Top 10 every year, with 76 Polish songs making the native Top 100 in 2022.
Streams of Polish artists on Spotify’s editorial playlists outdoors of Poland additionally elevated by greater than 700% over the previous decade. For instance, Rnbstylerz has over 2.8 million month-to-month listeners, with a majority coming from Germany, the U.S., and Mexico. And Catz ‘n Dogz, who’re part of GLOW, have a serious chunk of listeners coming from the U.S. and the U.Okay. Tribbs has over two million month-to-month listeners and collaborates with producers world wide, choosing up listeners in Brazil and Germany.
In your view, what are a few of Spotify Poland’s greatest accomplishments within the music house?
Spotify’s RADAR program launched in Poland in 2021 and has seen 15 native artists taking part since. The program has seen skills comparable to Zalia and Julia Rocka seeing incremental progress on the platform, in addition to Szczyl and Dziwna Wiosna being nominated for Fryderyk awards in 2022.
Spotify’s EQUAL program additionally launched in Poland in 2021. Notably, Sara James turned the youngest-ever EQUAL ambassador for this system and the primary Polish artist to be a worldwide ambassador. Artists comparable to Kaśka Sochacka and LUNA have significantly seen progress on the platform since their participation, with LUNA greater than tripling her month-to-month listeners the month she joined this system.
Additionally, Fresh Finds has been dwell available in the market for a yr, and it has helped quite a lot of unbiased Polish artists take the following steps of their careers. It has additionally confirmed to be a technique to determine the following huge expertise.
What have been among the most shocking listenership tendencies in Poland?
Back in 2013, we noticed worldwide rock bands being streamed probably the most, however now Polish rap and hip-hop dominate, as demonstrated by the recognition of our native hip-hop flagship playlist RAP GENERACJA, which has been the primary playlist in Poland yearly since launch.
When it involves the youthful technology, we’ve discovered that they select music to accompany their temper and the world they dwell in. They don’t care as a lot about when the tune was made or what style it’s. They strategy music with much more fluidity.
Celebrate 10 years of Spotify in Italy and Poland by listening to our anniversary playlists.