Why streaming listeners are choosing many older songs over new music

Older hits lead streaming charts

More music is being created than at any previous point in human history, with more than 100,000 songs submitted to streaming services every day. Yet listening data this year showed current music—released less than 18 months earlier—was significantly outweighed by older music in both the UK and the US.

Zara Larsson’s “Lush Life,” first released in June 2015, ranked as the year’s eighth biggest hit. Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” from 1983, was 22nd, while Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” released in 1977, placed 30th.

Breakout songs face limits

The UK Competition and Markets Authority says nearly two thirds of streams are for music recorded by only the top 0.4% of artists. Musicians also say that a viral hit may not make it easy to promote later releases or build a lasting career.

Artists seek deeper discovery

Oliver Schusser, Apple Music’s head, said the service was working to champion emerging artists through its curation. The platform’s Shoreditch Sofar Fringe festival in October featured performers including East London rapper J Casa, one of many grassroots artists trying to gain attention on streaming services.

J Casa sees live performance as offering something distinctive amid the flood of content. Sofar is also launching its Human Discovery Movement, a campaign intended to return music curation and discovery to human hands.

Algorithms raise concerns

Musicologist Anna-Kaisa Kaila said AI-generated playlist technology could carry bias. Dan Mackta, managing director of Qobuz, which follows a human-first approach to curation, said technology would not choose to surprise listeners with an unexpected track.

London-based independent artist Chiminyo said auto-generated playlists can lead people to mistake digitally mass-produced sound-alikes for hand-picked music by genuine artists. He described the tracks as sharing the same piano feel, microphone placement and tape machine.