THIS YEAR, Filipino music is set to continue making waves across the globe with the refreshed Pinoy Music Hub on Spotify which contains playlists that span genres, moods, and moments that highlight local artists. This was announced in time for the platform’s 10th anniversary in the country.
The amount of Pinoy music on the site has “quadrupled over the past five years,” according to Spotify Asia’s head for music Kossy Ng, in a press briefing held on Oct. 8.
The briefing was followed by the Spotify Lounge concert at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura, Taguig, that celebrated Pinoy music. Trending artists like Ben&Ben, Illest Morena, and Maki performed.
Spotify Philippines’ 10th year has been seeing an increase in the number of streams of Filipino music from all over the world. “P-pop girl group BINI is a notable example, boasting a listenership growth of 500% since 2022. The top four countries contributing to streams are the USA, Canada, and Indonesia,” said Ms. Ng.
The entire genre of P-Pop recorded a 138% year-on-year growth in the number of streams in the past year alone.
“Everything that is happening here — Filipino fans sharing and streaming — is actually making ripple effects across the world,” she added.
Gustav Back, Spotify’s managing director for Southeast Asia, told BusinessWorld separately that Spotify’s hub of playlists and programs promoting local artists are “curated by a music team that is data-informed.”
He explained that Metro Manila tends to be “a trigger city” that determines if an artist will do well all over the world.
“When something takes off in Manila, that’s a great predictor of how it’s going to do in other parts of the world,” he said at the Oct. 9 roundtable. “We have a lot of examples where a global artist has seen their success here first and that has then translated to other markets globally.”
Within the Philippines, Pinoy hip-hop is a genre that has seen a 600% increase in global daily streams in the past five years. This led to Spotify starting the nationwide concert tour Kalye X which brought Pinoy hip-hop acts to different stages around the country. The tour is still ongoing.
Ms. Ng said that when Spotify began in the country, it mainly saw foreign acts in its top 50 chart. The turning point was 2017, with the likes of Ben&Ben and Moira Dela Torre leading the charge in increasing local music’s streams.
Now, the majority or 75% of the tracks on Spotify Philippines’ Top 50 chart are local music, she revealed.
During the Spotify Lounge concert, awards were given to Filipino musicians whose songs have been streamed 200 million times on the platform. These include “Tadhana” by Up Dharma Down, “Kathang Isip” by Ben&Ben, and “Pano” by Zack Tabudlo.
“We remain dedicated to empowering Filipino talents and continuing to elevate Pinoy music on the global stage,” Ms. Ng said.
The Pinoy Music Hub’s playlists on Spotify include: Tatak Pinoy, Kalye, P-Pop on the Rise, and timeless favorites like OPM Hits of the 1980s, ’90s, and 2000s. Playlists catering to specific moods include Kilig Pa More, Hugot, and Panalo. — Brontë H. Lacsamana
