Unlike traditional trend reports that identify trends and artists after they reach mainstream, SoundCloud captures music culture at its earliest stage, while it’s still forming - before it’s named, categorized, or commercialized elsewhere. Built around direct interaction through reposts, comments, follows, and social discovery, SoundCloud shows how music actually spreads: through people. Early fan behavior signals momentum long before streaming volume catches up. These unique SoundCloud insights show us not just what is happening, but how culture is moving to signal what’s next.
👉 Read the full 2026 Music Intelligence Report here.
The 2026 Music Intelligence Report builds on last year’s findings, tracking how early signals mature over time and take root. Scenes first identified in the 2025 Music Intelligence Report, such as “Eclectic New Indie” and “UK Underground Rap,” have since gained mainstream traction and expanded beyond initial genre definitions.
Where Scenes Form Before They’re Named
One of the clearest signals in this year’s report is how scenes emerge organically through SoundCloud’s communities, driven by experimentation, collaboration, and fan participation. This evolution is happening through scenes — not charts — and SoundCloud is where that transformation is visible first. A few fast growing scenes to watch include:
- An Eclectic New “Indie”: A genre-blurring wave of artists releasing multiple styles side by side, from indie folk to alt trap.
- Mexican Reggaeton: A rapidly evolving scene blending reggaeton, trap, plugg, jerk, and regional influences.
- Scene-specific “chugg” (an evolution of plugg music) is up 78% year over year
- Artists to watch: Doony Graff, EZYA, Alanis Yuki, Globalboy, Nokyya
- Hard Techno: A scene accelerating both culturally and sonically.
- Average BPMs now exceed 180; the U.S. listens to hardtekk up 75%.
Explore the full list of scenes and artists within the report.
Listening Is Expanding Beyond Genre
Fans aren’t abandoning genres, they’re expanding beyond them.
Listeners now spend 4% less time with their most-played genre than they did in 2019, while still diving deep into music they love. In 2025, tracks older than 18 months accounted for a greater share of listening, showing that exploration and depth coexist. SoundCloud’s ecosystem supports this curiosity, enabling fans to move fluidly across sounds without losing connection.
Hip Hop Isn’t Declining, It’s Evolving
Despite headlines questioning hip-hop’s dominance, SoundCloud data shows a genre that’s hybridizing and rebuilding through scenes, driven largely by Gen Z creators and listeners.
UK underground rap streams have grown 4.5× in two years, fueled by an audience that is 85% Gen Z. Artists spotlighted in the 2025 report, including Fakemink and EsDeeKid, have since gained broader cultural traction, with Fakemink’s streams up nearly 300% in 2025 and EsDeeKid’s up over 70×, reflecting how rapidly artists can scale within socially connected scenes.
Another scene to watch, DMV Rap, rooted in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, blending Southern trap, drill, and regional lineage has seen streams increase 13% in the past year alone
Discovery Is Social and Listeners are Tastemakers
Discovery on SoundCloud is increasingly participatory. Fans don’t just listen, they shape what rises next.
Listeners who play a track via another user’s “Liked By” section are over three times more likely to like, repost, or comment themselves. This socially driven model is why SoundCloud consistently surfaces new movements early and why its data offers a front-row seat to music culture in real time.
A Window into What’s Next
From scene-led discovery to genre-fluid listening, the 2026 Music Intelligence Report highlights the artists, behaviors, and movements shaping music today and those set to define tomorrow.
