SAMPLEDWhy Are Old Songs Taking Over the Spotify Charts?
Catalog music is surging on Spotify's Top 200 while new hits fade faster, Music Business Worldwide reported this week. Here is what that means, plus Universal's layoffs and the other industry stories you missed.
Older songs, known in the industry as catalog, are taking up more room on Spotify's Top 200 charts, leaving new releases fighting for less space, according to new analysis covered in Music Business Worldwide's Oct. 16 round-up (opens in a new tab).
What is catalog music?
Labels generally treat songs as "frontline" when new and "catalog" once they are older (often 18 months or more, though definitions vary). Catalog includes classic hits but also songs from a couple of years ago that people keep streaming.
Is there evidence new hits fade faster?
MBW pointed to Miley Cyrus's album Bass Persuades, which fell from No. 1 to No. 157 on the Billboard 200 in its second week, the biggest-ever drop for a No. 1 debut. MBW also notes that generational smash hits by new artists still happen.
Why would catalog grow?
These are common explanations, not findings from the MBW analysis:
- Short-form video revives old songs. TikTok said users saved songs to streaming services 6 billion times in a year, Eric Alper reported (opens in a new tab), and many saves are older tracks.
- Algorithmic playlists keep serving proven songs.
- More releases every day split attention among new music.
Photo: NeONBRAND via Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
What else happened in the music business this week?
- Universal Music Group layoffs. A new wave of senior departures hit UMG as its roughly $270 million (€250 million) cost-cutting program, announced in February 2024, continues.
- Pipeline named Ben Katovsky CEO of the $200 million-backed music financing platform.
- AEG Presents acquired Paris-based Auguri Productions, which has worked with Stromae, Angèle and David Guetta.
- YouTube Music began labeling AI-generated songs. See How Does YouTube Music's New AI Label Work?
What should new artists do?
Old songs win because listeners keep returning to them. Build for the long run: register your songs with a PRO so you collect for years (which PRO should you join?), keep releasing, and treat a song as an ongoing asset rather than a one-week event.
FAQ
Is catalog bad for new artists? It makes chart space tighter, but today's new songs become tomorrow's catalog.
Does Spotify pay less for old songs? Spotify's payouts are not based on a song's age.