Spotify's Loud & Clear is an annual report compiled by the streaming platform that aims to to demystify how artists earn money through streaming and explore how the global musical landscape is evolving by analysing data on royalties.
Today, Spotify shared some UK-specific insights that reveal royalties generated by UK artists have reached over £810m in 2024, more than doubling since 2018.
The report also found that over 75% of all royalties generated by UK artists on Spotify in 2024 were from listeners outside of the UK, and that UK artists had seen a 28% increase in overseas streams year-on-year, confirming that British music continues to be hugely popular with global audiences. (No surprises there.)
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the report, though, was a list of 10 international genres Spotify has identified as growing in popularity with UK listeners, showcasing the increasingly diverse tastes of British audiences.
You've heard of drill, but have you heard of sexy drill? This amorous subgenre comes in right at the top of Spotify's list of the fastest-growing global scenes, seeing a 1460% increase in UK streams.
Pioneered by rapper Cash Cobain, the style is an uncharacteristically sensual take on drill that infuses the typically hard-edged genre with influences from R&B, pop and Jersey club. "It's drill music, but imagine it being about sex," Cobain told Mixmag late last year.
"Instead of [rapping] about killing each other, mine is about having a good time, having sex, meeting somebody you like and saying to them in all so many words what you want to do to them. It’s a groove where you can dance and move your body."
Though sexy drill was born out of New York, spearheaded by artists like Ice Spice, Bay Swag and Chow Lee, the genre has been taken to new heights by Texan rapper Don Toliver and even adapted by UK-based artists: Northern Irish artist Jordan Adetunji's KEHLANI is a prime example of a British spin on the sound.
Elsewhere on Spotify's round-up of international genres blowing up in 2025 is reggaeton chileno, a Chilean variant of the explosively popular Latin American genre represented by artists like Cris Mj and Floyy Menor that's seen a 446% increase in popularity with UK listeners.
Reggaeton chileno is closely followed by seresta, a traditional Brazilian style known for its distinctively romantic and nostalgic vibe, and lagu timur, a genre originating in Eastern Indonesia that blends traditional instruments like the sasando and tifa with synths and electric guitars.
Find the full list of Spotify's fastest-growing international genres in the UK below or read the full Loud and Clear report over at Spotify's website.
- Sexy Drill (1460%)
- Reggaeton Chileno (446%)
- Seresta (312%)
- Lagu Timur (300%)
- Indonesian Pop (261%)
- Afro House (258%)
- Elector Corridos (249%)
- Lagu Jawa (237%)
- Dangdut (230%)
- Indonesian Indie (213%)
- Malay Rap (203%)
