The Most Popular Music Genres Worldwide

 

Genre boundaries disappeared sometime in 2025. Artists mix styles that shouldn’t work together, creating sounds that become the most popular tracks on streaming platforms. A song from Nigeria can hit the top of the charts in New York. Country artists collaborate with trap producers. Nothing stays in its lane anymore. 

Yet, certain genres still claim the top positions on world charts, and anyone working with music feels the impact. 

Top 10 Most Popular Music Genres

The genres from this list are absolutely everywhere in 2025:

• hip-hop;
• rock;
• pop;
• Latin music like reggaeton, Latin pop, regional Mexican, etc.;
• country;
• afrobeats & global fusion;
• electronic dance music (EDM) and subgenres;
• k-pop;
• trap;
• phonk.

Pop, rock, and hip-hop remain mainstays because they’re the music that millions of fans consider a favorite or even a common part of life, year after year. Still, thanks to TikTok trends and modern internet culture, new waves of music like phonk or afrobeats are rising quickly now. 

What is the Most Popular Genre of Music Right Now, in 2025?

Hip-hop and phonk are absolutely dominating 2025, pulling about 30% of global streams. That’s more than any other type of music right now. What’s interesting is how these genres mix old-school beats with new-school stories and feel both nostalgic and fresh. You can’t escape them either. They’re in your workout playlist, playing at cafes, and backing TikTok videos.

How Streaming Services Influence Genre Popularity

Streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music don’t just deliver music, but decide what gets heard. They use data on what people listen to, skip, and share, then feed that information back into their recommendations. This creates a cycle: genres that get picked for big playlists get more streams, which in turn reinforces their place as the most popular. New and niche styles still have a chance to break out, though it’s harder if they don’t fit the current mood or if listeners aren’t searching for them.

Emerging Genres and the Future of Music

New genres and styles appear out of nowhere today, blend with the familiar, and suddenly become the main sound of a moment. We’ve created a list of some emerging genres:

• hyperpop;
• Latin urban and regional styles like corridos tumbados, racnhero, Latin trap, etc.;
• neo-soul & bedroom R&B;
• chillwave;
• lo-fi ambient;
• pluggnb;
• egg punk, and more.

The best music of the next few years might not belong to any single genre because the most interesting work is crossing borders, mixing voice memos, field recordings, and AI-generated textures, for example, and artists who refuse to be boxed in are the ones to watch. Music is becoming more global and more personal as a result, and listeners care more about how a song feels in the moment, less about labels.

You can also create distinctive music as Mubert lets you experiment with these emerging styles. Just open our online platform or official app, explore curated playlists or click “Generate”, and reach your audiences around the world almost instantly. 

Experiment with Mubert

Experimenting with Mubert doesn’t replace your favorite genres. You just discover new ways to create a full-length track, loop, or background score that can be used in any media project. 

You can try it right in your browser with Mubert Render:

1. Enter a prompt or upload an image describing your project.
2. Choose if it will be a track, loop, mix, or jingle.
3. Set a duration (5 sec–25 min);
4. Generate audio.

If you’d rather experiment on the go, the Mubert app is available both on iOS and Android, with the same features to build and listen to custom audio wherever you are. 

The API is also available for developers and creators working on a big scale. You can integrate the generator into your own apps, websites, and adapt each song to a user’s input or visual environment.

Every track comes royalty-free, meaning no licensing fees, no attribution requirements, and no risk of takedown notices down the line. Traditional stock music seems free at first, but commercial use brings hidden costs and restrictions—hundreds of dollars for a single license or copyright claims that derail your work. Here, once a track is generated, it’s cleared for videos, podcasts, ads, and even online business spaces. 

Conclusions

Music keeps changing in 2025, and some styles still hold their ground, while others pop up out of nowhere and take over the common charts. Streaming platforms push certain types of music into the spotlight and help niche sounds go viral fast, so music globally feels more open and far more diverse than it used to be. It doesn’t stick to the main hits, but lets people experiment and find what resonates right now using platforms like Mubert. 

The best music is whatever gets you moving or thinking, so keep exploring music generation and hunt for something unique. 

AI Music Company

Mubert is a platform powered by music producers that helps creators and brands generate unlimited royalty-free music with the help of AI. Our mission is to empower and protect the creators. Our purpose is to democratize the Creator Economy.

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