Awesome news! According to stats from independent digital music distribution, publishing and licensing service TuneCore, heavy metal is currently the fastest-growing music genre in the world.

In a new report, the company not only revealed that their artists earned $83 million in the first quarter of the year (which is a 21% increase from 2018), they also confirmed that heavy metal has been the fastest-growing genre over the past year – based on their streaming and download numbers. The platform helps artists distribute their music worldwide on the likes of iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer and Google Play.

Their 2018 figures are as follows:

Heavy metal – 154% increase

J-Pop – 133% increase

R&B/Soul – 68% increase

K-Pop – 58% increase

World music – 57% increase

Instrumental – 42% increase

“TuneCore is the only global platform that pays artists 100 per cent of what they earn from digital streams and downloads, while also meeting all of their needs across distribution, promotion and publishing administration,” says TuneCore CEO Scott Ackerman. “In 2019 we’re seeing great momentum in helping our customers build sustainable careers by finding new income across formats and channels.”

TuneCore also announced the changes in streaming growth worldwide, which is pretty interesting:

Africa – 146% growth

Asia – 52% growth

Oceania – 38% growth

Europe – 35% growth

South America – 32% growth

North America – 31% growth



Given that there’s some pretty big albums coming this year in the heavy world from the likes of Slipknot and Tool, fingers crossed we can fend off the competition and keep the genre deservedly on top…