VOLUME 05

CULTURE NEXT > 2

What’s So much so that it can mean a lot of different

things. To me, culture is defined by the expression
of a community’s shared values and beliefs that’s
reflected through a creative language. From
repeatedly” over some of the biggest events that
dominated news or social media headlines.1

Spotify has over 551 million listeners3 who use

Next
the platform to soundtrack their lives. Their
gaming and soccer to hip-hop and plant-based
engagement with our catalog of over 100 million
living, how quickly culture spreads is driven by
songs, 5 million podcasts (including 100,000+
the intensity of the community’s passion, and the
video podcasts), and 350,000 audiobooks3
creativity of its creators and fans.
both reflects culture and their passion for the
What’s clearer than ever before is that culture creators who are driving it. It’s why there was a
is constantly growing, morphing, and being 1,560% increase in global streams of Spotify’s
redefined. 81% of Zs agree that a singular definable Barbie Official Playlist4 the day after the movie’s
monoculture that most people consume in tandem premiere. Spotify users spend on average over 2.4
— like the 6 o’clock news or a morning radio hours a day with us5, and they have built podcast
show — does not exist today.1 So, if culture is communities (we hear you, Wrighty’s House
different for everyone, it can’t be universal. And it listeners), fan clubs around playlists and charts
never stays the same. Which makes it all the more (from K-Pop stans to Brazilian funk fans), and loyal
fascinating for us to study it — and why we’re so superfan groups for creators (#DaddyGang).

Having worked at big excited to share our fifth iteration of Culture Next.
It’s this engagement and our intimate relationship

brands and a few tech

In the first half of 2023, Gen Z listened to over with our audience that informs Culture Next. How
560 billion songs and more than 3 billion podcast fans, creators, and brands are connecting with
episodes — a 76% increase over the year prior, and shaping culture on Spotify in a way that’s

companies, I know that making them our fastest-growing cohort in music

and podcast listening.2 And when they were
deeply meaningful, personal and infectious is what
we’re exploring in this year’s report. What’s next is

“culture” is a word that

asked to consider the biggest cultural event of already here. Are you ready?
the last year, they were twice as likely to say “a
song, album, or podcast that I love and listened to Happy reading.
gets thrown around a lot.
Source: 1. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023. 2. Spotify First Party data, Q1-Q2 2023 vs.
Grace Kao
Q1-Q2 2022. 3. Spotify Earnings Call, Q2 2023. 4. Spotify First Party data, July 22, 2023 vs.
June 24, 2023. 5. Spotify First Party data, Q3 2023. Global Head of Business Marketing, Spotify
 CULTURE NEXT > 3

Table
of contents
1 2 3

Deep School Echo

Cuts of Talk Culture
Immersions via music and Podcasts are on the front lines The sound waves of local
podcasts deepen fans’ of education, shaping the cultures echo around the
cultural experiences. minds of the next gen. globe at supersonic speeds.
 CULTURE NEXT > 4

Deep
Cuts
Immersions via music and As Zs re-discovered a Millennial classic, The Little
podcasts deepen fans’ Mermaid with the 2023 release, daily discoveries
skyrocketed 600% for “Under the Sea” and
cultural experiences 1,700% for “Fathoms Below” by Ship’s Chorus.2

The average number of

Vanderpump-related podcasts
added daily to the platform spiked
by nearly 350% after Scandoval.1
Source: 1.Spotify Internal Data: January 1-March 5, 2023 vs. March 6-May 17, 2023.
2. Spotify Internal Data: Reflects recent listening over a 90 day period
 CULTURE NEXT > 5

They want to break through the superficial surface

they often find on social media — and discover
more about culture, the world, and themselves.
That’s why they turn to Spotify. Through editorial
and personalized music mixes, and features such
as Blend, Niche Mixes, and DJ, we help them not
only discover but explore. In fact, a resounding
78% of Gen Zs in the US agree that Spotify brings
people deeper into culture.1

Zs crave Gen Zs are leveraging Spotify to

discover and immerse themselves
in culture more deeply.

depth.
Source: 1. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023.
 CULTURE NEXT > 6

Laila Mignoni
Global Head of Brand Marketing

1.5B
Communications at Bacardi
Since its debut on Spotify in
February of 2023, Gen Zs have
used our AI-powered DJ to stream To have a platform like Spotify where
over 1.5 billion minutes of music
you can land who [your brand is] and
minutes of music and recommendations globally.1
what you stand for on a deeper level
is so important.

58%
Gen Z made up nearly two-
thirds (58%) of total US
Blend playlist shares in the
first half of 2023, connecting
deeper with their friends.2
of US Blend playlist Source: 1. Spotify First Party Data,
Q1-Q2 2023. 2. Spotify First Party Data,
US Q1-Q2 2023.
 CULTURE NEXT > 7

Podcasts, too, have

emerged as a dependable
and engaging means of
deeper cultural reporting
and storytelling:
listeners tune into episodes from start to finish, no matter
the length.1 Categories like True Crime (average episode
length of over 40 minutes) and Comedy (average episode
length of over 50 minutes) have average completion rates
of over 80%1. In fact, nearly three-quarters (72%) of Gen
Z in the US agree that podcasts take you deeper into any
topic2, bringing listeners to the core of any subject. As
Ivan, 18, from São Paulo, Brazil, puts it, “On social media,
you hear that a politician stole money. On podcasts, they
explain everything: why they stole money, from whom they
stole money.” (Check out “School of Talk” for more.)

Source: 1. Spotify Fan Study: Podcast Edition, April-June 2022. 2. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023
 CULTURE NEXT > 8

Podcast creators on Spotify are deepening fan engagement via video.

There are now more than

Because [podcasts] are so

shareable, if people are
100,000
video podcasts on Spotify1, including Spotify Original and Licensed podcasts:

intrigued, inclined or in some

way titillated, they’re most likely
going to share that with the
people around them.

Trevor Noah Call Her Daddy Stolen The Journal

Spotify Original podcast host

Source: 1. “Spotify Tops 100,000 Video Podcasts,” Spotify Newsroom, June 2023. 2. Spotify First Party Data, US Q1-Q2 2023 vs. Q1-Q2 2022.

Through increased + 81% + 58%

podcast listenership over Health & Fitness TV & Film
the last year, Zs in the US
are diving deeper into
categories including: + 59% + 57%
Music Fiction2
 CULTURE NEXT > 9

School
of Talk
Fueled by diverse perspectives and
honest debate, podcasters have Girls are leaning into Spotify to help them
become the influential voices of culture plan for the future and increase their financial
fluency. The top trending Financial podcast for
shaping the minds of the next gen. Zs is The Financial Feminist.2

Short 4-5 minute pieces

of motivational content are
Source: 1.Spotify Internal Data: Reflects recent listening over a 90 day period.
2. Spotify Internal Data: Reflects recent listening over a 90 day period trending amongst Zs.1
 CULTURE NEXT > 10

Podcasts are on the front lines of next-

gen education — disrupting how, what,
and where young people learn.
On Spotify in the US, Zs’ podcast listening in the Education category has surged by 53%
in the last year, while increases in Religion/Spirituality (+67%), Health & Fitness (+81%),
Government (+59%), and History (+36%), among others, indicate a thirst for knowledge.1 With
Spotify as their global classroom, Zs are able to proactively curate their own curriculum and
immerse themselves in unfamiliar areas of culture. Over half of Gen Z podcast listeners in the
US (53%) say they’ve learned about a community they’re not a part of “and probably wouldn’t
have learned about elsewhere” via podcasts.2

900 M
Gen Zs in the US generated nearly 900
million podcast streams on Spotify in the
first half of 2023 — fueling a 48% increase
podcast streams since the year prior.3

Source: 1. Spotify First Party Data, Q1-Q2 2023 vs Q1-Q2 2022. 2. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023.
3. Spotify First Party Data, US Q1-Q2 2023
 CULTURE NEXT > 11

In the process, podcasters

have become influential voices
in culture who are taking
education into their own
hands… and ears.
Through streaming, Zs are able to tap into the latest thought leadership
on relationships from Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy or politics from
Germany’s Hobbylos — among myriad other topics from podcasters
around the world. Half (50%) of Zs in the US feel that podcasts get
them closer to the zeitgeist of culture than any other form of media.1

Three-quarters of Zs in the US (75%) say According to our previous Fan Study research,
podcasts teach them about topics they wish Zs on Spotify discover podcast content at a rate
they’d learned about in school.2 more than double that of any other generation.3

Source: 1. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023. 2. Spotify Culture Next survey, US, June 2023. 3. Spotify Fan Study: Podcast Edition, April-June 2022
 CULTURE NEXT > 12

Podcast lessons are resonating, in part, because younger gens find

their sources more credible: diverse voices sharing their personal
experiences rather than the prescriptive views of academia’s ivory
towers. Take podcast host and journalist Connie Walker, for example,
who turned her family’s experience of Canada’s notorious residential
schools into Stolen: Surviving St. Michael’s. Dubbed “an investigation via
oral history” by Vulture, the series won a Pulitzer and a Peabody (the first Podcasts add a lot of value to
podcast to ever do so in the same week).1 “This felt like an opportunity to
show more of myself in my work and bring my own experiences in a way
culture. Especially as a queer Black
that felt authentic,” she told us. That authenticity resonates with Zs in the person and somebody who creates
US: 76% agree they’re more interested in learning from normal people’s a podcast, (podcasts provide a
lived experiences than so-called “experts.” 2 platform to) talk about issues that a
Source: 1. “The Best True Crime Podcasts of 2022,” New York, December 2022. 2. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023
lot of people want to find out about
and have conversations about.

Abrielle, 18
Springfield, VA
Mikhail, 25
New York City
Podcasts provide a good source of cultural education.
It’s a way to listen to different perspectives.
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Three in five Zs in the US

74% of Zs
in the US say podcasts offer a
refreshing space for debate.1
(60%) believe podcasting is
more trustworthy than other
forms of media because it’s
representative of more diverse
voices and points of view.1

Financial services require conversation and
understanding, and meeting the audience
where they are. Podcasts are an incredibly
important and attractive channel through
Podcasts have blown open the doors of the educational
landscape, making it more accessible, relatable, and
entertaining than ever before. Interviews deep-dive into the
unique POVs of a wide range of people. And capital “D” discourse
— e.g. debates that are raw, uncut, and, yes, sometimes even

which better communication can emerge combative — resonate with a generation hungry for perspective,
not just spoon-fed “facts.”2 Podcasts are fuel for conversation and
and be showcased. debate among Zs as they share the knowledge they acquire via
podcasts with each other and collectively unpack learnings.
Chris Curtin
SVP, Head of Digital,
Social and Rewards at
Bank of America Source: 1. Spotify Culture Next survey, US, June 2023. 2. “Podcasts as a source of news and information,”
Pew Research Center, April 2023
Echo
Culture
Fueled by viral moments and Spotify’s
expert curation, local sounds are
echoing around the globe and rewriting
the rules of cultural influence Latin Music is the
fastest growing genre
on Spotify.

Source: Spotify Internal Data

 CULTURE NEXT > 15

89%
We’ve long known that Gen Z is the most globally-minded generation to + 177% Viral Hits
date. But this gen’s interest in global communities has deepened as virality has
changed the reach of culture: 76% of Zs in the US agree “viral trends cause + 38% Internet People
culture to evolve quicker than ever before.”1 And keeping up with culture at large
is a non-negotiable for Zs, even when life gets too busy or the content queue gets
of Zs in the US + 33% Teen Beats
longer. Case in point: 36% of Zs in teh US have listened to a podcast at a faster-
than-normal speed in the past year while two-thirds (63%) have played songs at agree “the speed of culture today is
accelerating creative growth.” 2
+ 28% Big on the internet3
a quicker tempo — far more than Millennials (25% and 42% respectively).1
Source: 1. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023. 2. Spotify Culture Next survey, US, June 2023. 3. Spotify First Party Data, Q1-Q2 2023 vs. Q1-Q2 2022.

I’m a small part of a bigger movement towards

artists from all over the world not just making it in
their regions but being considered mainstream.
It’s always been a mission of mine to make the
Dhruv endeavor of my music not serve just one country
Music artist or one region, but to do it around the world.
 CULTURE NEXT > 16

The viral nature of digital platforms is + 73% + 30%

also amplifying once-niche, hyper-local
sounds — and Spotify’s vast network of
curators and creators help ensure these
echoes resonate deep and far. Northern
Mexican genres Sierreño, Banda, and
Corridos, for instance, have struck
a global chord.1 From South Africa,
Guateng’s Amapiano, Johannesburg’s
Kwaito, and Durban’s Gqom have
strutted into the worldwide spotlight.2
Meanwhile, Nairobi’s Gengetone
evolved from a local beat to global
anthem;3 Moscow’s homegrown hip-
Amapiano Punjabi pop
a subgenre of house music a mash-up of contemporary
from the Gauteng region of pop and traditional folk from
South Africa.8 India’s Punjab region.8
+ 29% + 48%
Phonk Banda
a genre of hip-hop from a regional Mexican style of
Moscow’s underground, music characterized by brass
inspired by ’90s Memphis rap.8 and percussion.8
Source: 1. “Regional Mexican Music Is Going Global, And It’s Been A Long Time Coming,” Stereogum, May
2023. 2. “Amapiano, Kwaito, Gqom, and House/Dance: Four South African Genres That Tell the Story of

hop genre, Phonk, went (and has stayed)
viral;4 Neapolitan music soared to over
Freedom,” Spotify Newsroom, April 2022. 3. “For Kenyan Artists, the Emerging Gengetone Genre Is a Way
of Life,” Spotify Newsroom, August 2021. 4. “All You Need To Know About Phonk, the Dance Subgenre That’s
Taking Off,” Billboard, November 2022. 5. “Naples’ One-of-a-Kind Music Scene Is Having a Championship
Year,” Spotify Newsroom, May 2023. 6. “‘Wakhra Swag’ – Tracing the Global Rise of Punjabi Pop,” Spotify
Newsroom, April 2021. 7. “Brazilian Funk is Making Waves Across International Waters,” 34th Street, March

two billion streams on Spotify in the last

2023. 8. Spotify First Party Data, Q1-Q2 2023 vs. Q1-Q2 2022.

year;5 several of India’s traditional folk

sounds — including Punjab, Bhangra,
and Telugu — gained audiences across
borders;6 and Brazilian funk beats have
rippled out from Rio de Janeiro to
international ears.7
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Antonio Vázquez
Head of U.S. Latin Editorial
at Spotify
As these local sounds reverberate
around the globe, Zs are The localization of music has
becoming increasingly borderless: given a spotlight to local talent.
this gen in the US is 42% more There are thousands of artists
likely to feel that music is a that are getting exposure and
gateway to other cultures than traction that they didn’t have
they did in 2021,1 while 85% say before streaming.
they’ve used either music or
podcasts as a way to learn about
cultures and experiences that
differ from their own.2 As Sullina
Ong, Spotify’s Global Head of
Editorial, put it: “Spotify is making

44%
the world smaller and helping of Zs in the US predict
that future cultural
artists reach audiences they influences will be
shaped more by
previously couldn’t.” emerging markets than
global superpowers.2

58%
Source: 1. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023 vs. April 2021.
of Zs in the US say they 2. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023.
like music that’s not in
their native language — a
significant increase from
2021 (when just 50%
expressed the same).1
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What it
Here are tangible takeaways and tactics that can help
your brand authentically connect with Gen Z:

means for Soundtrack

marketers:
Gen Zs use Spotify to dive deeper into
culture and learn more about themselves,
creators, and the world around them.
Spotify is their trusted source of discovery.
In fact, 39% of Zs in the US say they trust
ads more if they hear them on Spotify,
rather than see them on social media.1
of Culture
From Spotify’s algorithmic playlists that reflect personalized
tastes to flagship playlists that mirror current cultural
obsessions, playlists are the social currency on Spotify.
Sponsoring Discover Weekly, On Repeat, and Release
Radar enables your brand to reach your audience while
encouraging them to discover more.
INSPIRATION
Pod Ed
Next-gen listeners educate themselves on what’s next—and they prefer
familiar sources with real world experience that they trust. Podcast
hosts are the voices defining culture today, and their content allows for
the deepest dives into the topics Zs care about. Show that your brand
supports Zs’ exploration of culture through Host Reads across top shows
like Call Her Daddy or Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain or Voice
Talent Reads across the podcast subjects that matter most to your
audience. Learn more about podcast ads.
INSPIRATION

Source: 1. Spotify Culture Next survey, June 2023

Time to take action
Equipped with these Gen Z insights and actionable
tactics, you can start reaching Zs in the moments that
matter most to them. Reach out to your local Spotify
Advertising team to get started.
That Sounds
Good
Audio is a core element of culture, and Gen Zs use Spotify to stream what
they love. Create custom audio ads that acknowledge what matters most to
listeners, whether it’s hyper-specific microgenres or mainstream melodies. Use
a voiceover that matches the mood and moment, or enlist a musician to make
your message sing.
Discover
Gen Z loves what they love with pride. Encourage them
to embrace their taste—however popular or unique—
by creating a digital experience that analyzes their
streaming data and introduces them to more of what
they love, including your brand.

INSPIRATION INSPIRATION
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Methodology
For this issue of Culture Next, Spotify conducted a combination of
qualitative, quantitative, and first-party data analysis that explored
distinct segments of Gen Z (15-24) based on life stage, as well as their
Millennial (25-40) counterparts.

We partnered with youth culture agency Archrival to conduct 10 Zoom

focus groups and 15 in-depth interviews, ultimately speaking with
nearly four dozen respondents around the globe, in Australia, Brazil,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, New
Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United
States. We conducted additional in-depth interviews with advertising
and audio industry thought leaders.

We also fielded a global quantitative survey via Rep Data among 11,250
respondents in June of 2023 (with approximately 750 respondents in
each of the above markets). Findings were additionally grounded in
Spotify’s unique Streaming Intelligence and first-party data.