What are the new music trends for 2024? Let’s check out the hot new genres, creator techniques, technological leaps, and more.
What are the current music trends in 2024, what’s the latest genre to blow up and demand people’s attention, and what on Earth is Planet of the Bass? Let’s check out all that good stuff today.
Whether you’re a solo creator or part of an in-house team, you’ll want to take note of the latest music trends. After all, soundtracking’s as important for ads, movies, and big-budget productions as it is for social media nowadays — trending sounds on platforms like TikTok can turn unknown users into stars overnight.
So, without further waffle, let’s cover the six latest music trends we think you should watch out for in 2024. Here they are:
- Cinematic stings
- Acoustic music
- Comedy songs
- Left-of-center samples
- Jazz/soul/electronica hybrids
- AI in music
Trend 1: Cinematic stings will give short-form video the edge
Short-form content has exploded since the internet’s rise from the desktop and into your hand. In fact, over the past 15 years, our attention spans have waned from an average of 12 to just 8.25 seconds. This puts an immense amount of pressure on any content you put out, and has led to a leveling-up in the short-form content arena.
Over the coming year, we’re predicting an even sharper increase in the usage of cinematic, ‘trailer’-like music in short-form content. Take a look at the video below for a flavor of what we mean: Will Paquin’s gorgeous, bite-sized Summer Loop 4 soundtracks the montage, giving viewers that espresso shot of the season as the train rolls through the Scottish Highlands. It’s irresistible!
Trend 2: Acoustic music will make a quiet comeback
Electronic music is huge, and it gets its claws everywhere — even Taylor Swift, who made her name as a country-pop star, made the jump to squelchy electronic pop long ago. However, in a world saturated by bleepy machines and AI-generated deepfakes, people cling to things that are real.
That’s why Tyler Childers’ Jersey Giant became such a viral hit in 2023. It’s a simple, lovely country song, allowing room for other musicians to put their own spin on it. Artists like Evan Honer and Julia DiGrazia gave it a new lick of paint at the end of 2022 — their cover blew up on TikTok, which led to even more covers.
Trend 3: Comedy music will tickle ribs
Comedy music’s always been popular, and different generations have different jokers. Whether that be Weird Al Yankovic or Spike Jones, The Lonely Island or George Formby, the art of making music to spit your coffee out to is a time-honored tradition.
And when it lands, it really lands. One of last year’s oddest successes, Planet of the Bass, became one of the biggest songs on TikTok in 2023. It achieved meme status and landed the song’s creator, Kyle Gordon, a guest appearance at a Jonas Brothers gig.
The song works because it spoofs its chosen genre — ‘90s Eurodance — so painfully well. Gordon is set to release a full album of comedy songs this year, and if we were to put money on it, we reckon others will follow suit.
Trend 4: Real-life or lesser-known samples will take off
Sampling makes for some of the most iconic, dance-worthy drops and musical moments you’d care to remember. Everyone from Daft Punk to Slipknot have used samples from movies, TV shows, and even field recordings to give their music a lil’ extra juice.
And nobody’s changed the sampling game in recent years like Fred Again — the English DJ shot to fame in 2021 thanks to his unique take on cutting up others’ material. He used clips from everywhere: YouTube videos, FaceTime calls, his friend singing a baby to sleep.
It was a fresh, brutally honest approach that built him a die-hard following. This heart-on-sleeve, ‘local’ approach to sampling looks like something that’ll grow bigger across 2024, using everyday charm to connect with audiences on a more personal level.
Trend 5: The continued rise of jazz/soul/electronica hybrids
Genres like jazz and soul don’t sound like they should pair well with electronica, right? They seem like quite the opposite: organic, often spontaneous performances that can’t be nailed down to a formula.
All the more surprising, then, when artists like Jitwam make a mockery of genre and blend those things with ease. Dashes of jazz, house, soul, and even punk creep into the Australian musician’s work, somehow nailing them all. Like the previous sampling trend, this delicious mixture of analog and programmable will probably see more traction in 2024.
Trend 6: AI in music keeps gaining traction
2023 was the year artificial intelligence went from a high-flying concept to a mainstream buzzword. Despite a broader understanding of what it is, its capabilities, and its weaknesses, the jury’s still out on how much AI will impact the music industry going forward.
At a glance, though, AI within music has undoubtedly become a ‘thing.’ It can be used to help generate ideas for new tracks, finish unreleased material, and give old recordings a modern-day glow-up.
And stepping away from the artist side of things, AI is being used in other exciting ways across the music industry. For example, we’ve recently released a bunch of AI-equipped tools to help our users find the perfect tracks for their project.
Take Soundmatch, which — in a matter of seconds — can recommend tracks perfectly suited to each visual scene in your video. AI’s capabilities are developing each day, helping you make decisions that’ll lighten your workload and boost your creativity.
Find the perfect soundtrack for every music trend in 2024 with Epidemic Sound. We’ve got more than 40,000 tracks, with everything from polka and heavy metal to drift phonk and trap.
And if you’re a business looking to take your content to the next level with customized music, why not contact our Enterprise team? They’ll be able to guide you through the latest music trends, create bespoke playlists, and help you get the most out of your subscription.
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And best of all? The entire Epidemic Sound catalog is high-quality, affordable, and safe.
An Epidemic Sound subscription goes beyond royalty-free music, removing the headache of licensing and freeing you up to do what you do best. You can enjoy the safety of our license hand-in-hand with our massive catalog of 40,000 tracks, covering just about every genre you can think of. You’ll also gain unlimited access to our advanced search functions — finding the right sound’s never been easier.
It’s better than royalty-free. It’s worry-free. Get started with Epidemic Sound below.
Interested in more trend-spotting? Check out our deep-dives into the latest trends across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube in 2024.
