This week, music streaming service Spotify released its annual “Wrapped” statistics, providing data about the listening habits of 2020 for individual users, countries, and the platform as a whole.
In Turkey, rap, pop and indie music were the most popular genres for streaming in 2020, with Ezhel topping the charts as the most listened to artist.
The iconic singer-songwriter Sezen Aksu, and rappers Murda, Sagopa Kajmer and Patron made up this year’s top 5 Turkish artists on Spotify.
Rock bands dominated Spotify’s most listened to groups of 2020. In first place was Yüzyüzeyken Konuşuruz, followed by indie rock duo Dolu Kadehi Ters Tut in second place, then Duman, Pinhani and Adamlar.
Two collaborations between Dutch-Turkish rapper Murda and Ezhel were in Turkey’s top 5 most streamed songs. ‘Bi Sonraki Hayatımda Gel’ by Murda and Ezhel was in top spot, with their track ‘Aya’ occupying fifth place.
In between were rapper Gazapizm’s ‘Unutulacak Dünler’, pop singer-songwriter Zeynep Bastık’s ‘Uslanmıyor Bu’, and Turkish Kurdish singer Reynmen’s track ‘Leila’ Reynmen.
‘Bi Sonraki Hayatımda Gel’ by Murda & Ezhel was Turkey’s most streamed song of 2020
While there didn’t appear to be a ‘most listened to male artists’ list for Turkey, Spotify did release one for female artists. Unsurprisingly, Sezen Aksu was the country’s most streamed female artist, followed by Zeynep Bastık. Three foreign female artists made Turkey’s top: Billie Eilish (3rd place), Dua Lipa (8th) and Lana Del Rey (10th).
Turkey’s changing listening tastes was also reflected in Spotify’s most popular albums, with rap stars again ruling the streaming charts. Murda and Ezhel’s ‘Made In Turkey’ was the most listened to long-play of 2020. The album, released in August, headed straight to the head of the charts in Turkey and has remained there ever since.
Gazapizm’s ‘Hiza’ was Turkey’s second most streamed album of 2020. In third spot was ‘Lights Out’ by German Turkish rapper Ufo361, followed by Murda’s solo offering Doğa, with pop-rock band Yüzyüzeyken Konuşuruz ‘s 2018 album Akustik Travma completing the top 5.
Launched in 2008, Spotify now has 320 million active users worldwide. Unlike physical or digital sales, the Swedish based streaming service allows users to subscribe, giving them access to Spotify’s vast digital archives of recorded music and podcasts, which includes 60 million songs.
The digital platform extends the reach of all artists, offering them a global audience, which is helping to boost the international popularity of same musicians who would ordinarily not get the same international marketing and media coverage as mainstream artists from Britain and the USA.
This year’s globally most listened to artist on Spotify was Bad Bunny, a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, and songwriter, whose sound encompasses Latin trap and reggaeton music. Spotify’s Wrapped statistics show Bad Bunny having more than 8.2 billion streams in 2020.
Artists and their record labels receive royalties based on the number of streams (listens) their songs receive. However, many artists have complained that the current arrangementsdo not compensate musicians fairly.
