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2024 is the year of country music. It's no secret that this year has put a magnifying glass on country music. From the numerous crossover album announcements (Lana Del Rey, we are still waiting on Lasso), the CMA snub controversy with Beyoncé to country music and politics being intertwined during the election, there were numerous conversations this year involving country music. https://twitter.com/WhiskeyRiff/status/1864372117703098552 While they say any press is good press, that is often not the case. But for country music this year, the conversations surrounding the genre (good and bad) led to it gaining a sizeable new following. With the 2024 Spotify Wrapped dropping today, Spotify users everywhere are diving into their listening statistics. While some users might have a country song or artists on their top-listened list for the first time, this is no coincidence. John Stein, who has served as Spotify's head of North America editorial, noted that monthly streams for the country genre increased by 20% globally in 2024 compared to previous year. "Country's evolution into a genre that's not a monolith, but embracing wildly different musical influences, has created something that unprecedentedly connects with anyone interested in good music."  Stein and the Spotify team shared data with The Tennessean comparing listening numbers from Morgan Wallen and Post Malone's mega-hit "I Had Some Help" to the last Spotify mega-hit from 2015, Jack Ü and Justin Bieber's "Where Are Ü Now." Nearly a decade after the song's release, it has racked up an astonishing 1.1 billion streams on the platform. When you compare these numbers to the data Spotify shared with The Tennessean regarding the rise in country music, they see an increase of over 700% in monthly American streams for country since 2019. This data shows that Malone and Wallen's "I Had Some Help" could hit the same number of streams Jack Ü and Bieber currently have by March 2025. To reach this number in nine months compared to the near decade it took Jack Ü and Justin Bieber to hit is unreal. Data also showed that Malone and Wallen's duet resulted in a 260% increase in discoveries, aka first-time listeners on Spotify in the United States, and an 820% increase in discoveries/first-time listens among country listeners. But that is just part of how country music's popularity has multiplied over the years. Given that country music singers and songwriters express profound feelings through their lyrics, Stein and the Spotify team have noticed that listeners tend to grasp onto a vulnerable artist that relates to the listeners' personal experiences. "Artists who build a universe built by their personal experiences that exists within their sound allow for a connection to their artistry and humanity. Those fans, outside of discovering new performers, are willing to return to the artist they feel they know best, album after album." Amen to that. We all have that artist that we feel "gets us," and we will champion during every release, whether a single or a record. If you are a new country music fan or an existing one, we hope you find comfort in this space. Country music is truly the genre for all: the ones in love, the heartbroken, the lonely, the faithful, or those who just want some good ole drinking songs. Country music does it all and well. The proof is in the pudding that country music is at the forefront of everyone's minds, and I can't wait to see how the genre continues to grow and the new artist discoveries that will be made in 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QIZE708gJ4&pp=ygUPaSBoYWQgc29tZSBoZWxw