Global Trends in How Businesses Streamed Music in 2023 Unveiled: Soundtrack Charted Year-In-Review

Latin and jazz saw the highest streaming increases in year-over-year growth and the use of "happy" as a brand sound increased by 16%

LOS ANGELES and STOCKHOLM, Jan. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Soundtrack Your Brand, the leading global music streaming service for businesses, today released its 2023 Soundtrack Charted, an annual year-in-review data report, detailing global commercial music streaming trends across more than 72,000 restaurants, hotels, bars, cafes, retail shops, spas, offices and more.

In 2023, the top 10 genres streamed across commercial businesses were pop, ambient, electronic, rock, jazz, singer-songwriter, soul, country, hip-hop and traditional. Between 2022 and 2023, Latin and jazz saw the highest increases in commercial streaming. The top 10 most played "Sounds," a proprietary Soundtrack Your Brand feature that enables businesses to curate playlists based on brand attributes, in 2023 were mainstream, modern, happy, expressive, acoustic, party, elegant, energized, low-key and relaxed. The use of happy increased the most in 2023 at 16%.

"Soundtrack Your Brand's annual Soundtrack Charted report unveils how global businesses use music to enhance customer experience and build brand loyalty," Soundtrack Your Brand's CEO Ola Sars said. "We are uniquely positioned to provide this data as the only on-demand music streaming platform designed for business."

Soundtrack Your Brand's made-for-business music tech platform is the only commercial streaming service that enables brands to curate playlists on-demand in order to deploy a brand-fit auditory experience. Soundtrack empowers its customers with brand aesthetic playlist and station creation features based on energy, sound, genre, instrumental, decade and audience. The use of the "Sounds" feature has increased yearly since 2020, conveying a positive shift in how businesses approach the use of music as a brand and experience differentiator.

"Curating a brand's sound goes far beyond genre and artist selections," noted Sars. "Highly successful and evolved brands recognize that music is less about one's personal taste and rooted in what resonates best with its target audience. Music is one of the most impactful and cost-efficient brand differentiators."

Recap of which Sounds were most used in specific business categories in 2023:

• Restaurants/Bars/Cafes: mainstream, modern, happy, expressive, indie
• Hotels: modern, elegant, acoustic, low-key, relaxed
• Retail: mainstream, modern, happy, expressive, party
• Spas: relaxed, low-key, focus, dreamy, acoustic
• Offices: mainstream, modern, happy, relaxed, low-key
• Gyms: energized, modern, mainstream, electronic, youthful

Recap of the top five genres streamed in specific business categories in 2023:

• Restaurants/Bars/Cafes: Pop, rock, jazz, singer-songwriter, soul
• Hotels: Pop, ambient, jazz, electronic, singer-songwriter
• Retail: Pop, rock, electronic, ambient, soul
• Spas: Ambient, pop, electronic, singer-songwriter, hip-hop
• Offices: Pop, ambient, electronic, jazz, singer-songwriter
• Gyms: Electronic, pop, hip-hop, rock, ambient

"As we highlight the past year's trends, it is vital to address that nearly 76% of small and mid-size businesses are misusing consumer streaming services in their businesses which violates copyright laws, making them vulnerable to fines and lawsuits," added Sars. "The often-overlooked B2B streaming opportunity and rampant misuse of music in commercial spaces are conversations the music industry must prioritize in 2024."

To view the 2023 Soundtrack Charted music trends report, visit soundtrackyourbrand.com/charted-2023

ABOUT SOUNDTRACK YOUR BRAND
Soundtrack Your Brand was founded in 2013 by Ola Sars as a joint effort with Spotify to provide an all-in-one, on-demand music tech solution for hotels, bars, cafes, retail shops, spas, offices and other commercial settings. Today, Soundtrack Your Brand is the leading global music streaming service for businesses and the only offering of its kind licensed in 74 countries with a music catalog of more than 100 million tracks. Its international client base includes iconic brands such as Ikea, Lululemon, Uniqlo, Joe & The Juice, Aesop and Tag Heuer, to name a few. Learn more at soundtrackyourbrand.com and @soundtrackyourbrand on social media.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Elle Welch
[email protected] 
(423) 605-5553

SOURCE Soundtrack Your Brand