Music genres preferred by consumers in the U.S. 2018

According to a study carried out by Deezer in May 2018, the most popular genre among Americans was rock music, with 56.8 percent of respondents stating that they were currently listening to music within this genre as of the date of survey. Pop and country music were the second and third most popular genres respectively, and 20.2 percent of respondents said they preferred jazz.

The appeal of rock and pop music

The broad appeal of rock and pop music can in part be attributed to how both genres often blend seamlessly into one another and influence other music styles. Heavy rock bands like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC are often more divisive than melodic rock groups like Bon Jovi or Genesis, just like pop music which strays into R&B territory or is better associated with hip hop or EDM. Each have their appeal to fans with different tastes, and the versatility of rock and pop (and music which combines the two) allows such music to reach adults of all ages and backgrounds.

Rock albums also account for the majority of vinyl album sales in the United States, with pop albums ranking second. However, although the resurgence of vinyl has to a certain extent been reliant on the rock genre, this is not the case when it comes to digital music consumption. Rap and hip hop accounted for 22.8 percent of music video streams in the U.S. in 2018, whereas for rock music videos the share was just 7.1 percent. Rock fared similarly when it came to audio streams, once again losing out to rap and hip hop. Taking such data into consideration, it would seem that rock music fans are generally more drawn to traditional formats and are less inclined to enjoy their music via streaming platforms.