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Discover best of Indonesian music on Spotify’s Pop Indo Hub
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I
n our increasingly connected world, music from around the globe is now at our fingertips. In fact, one in four Spotify users actively listens to artists from different cultures.
Indonesian music is quite a phenomenon at Spotify, with close to 10 billion tracks streamed to date and an average of 66 million minutes spent listening to Indonesian music each day.
The widespread popularity of Indonesian music within the country and – interestingly – in other countries has prompted Spotify to create the Pop Indo Hub for fans. Specially curated by Spotify, Pop Indo Hub features what’s trending in the country, up-and-coming music, top artists and, of course, its legendary ballads. Pop Indo Hub is the perfect place for fans to go and find Indonesia’s hits of the past, present and future.
More than that, it’s also the best spot for music fans around the world to discover Indonesia through its unique sounds. Indonesian music is making waves beyond its borders, with artists like NIKI, Rich Brian and Dipha Barus paving the way to the global stage. Beyond Indonesia, Spotify’s Pop Indo Hub gets a lot of visitors from Malaysia, Singapore, Bahrain and Egypt.
Pop Indo Hub
Introduced in 2016, Spotify’s Pop Indo Hub offers insight into the diverse culture of Indonesia through its unique music. With more than 30 playlists, fans can get lost in the content hub with their favorite music for any mood or moment.
Popular playlists in the hub include Top Hits Indonesia, Santai Sejenak, Generasi Galau, Waktunya Spotify and Kopikustik. Today, the hub is also home to some of Indonesia’s hottest acts and rising stars, including Sheila On 7, Tulus, Brisia Jodie and many more.
Spotify’s Pop Indo Hub also works as the space where music fans around the world can discover the very best of Indonesian culture.
“Music is very often our first glimpse into another culture, and we believe a big part of our role as a platform of discovery also lies in helping fans discover the world around them through music,” said Spotify Southeast Asia music culture and editorial team lead Eve Tan. “It’s special to us that the Pop Indo Hub hasn’t just been popular among Indonesians.
“As Indonesian music continues to grow, we are excited to be along for the ride as we connect more artists with fans in the country and beyond,” Tan said.
Spotify also plays an active role in boosting music discovery, having launched its Early Noise initiative to unearth up-and-coming stars across Asia and promote them to a larger international fan base.
This year, Tashoora, a Yogyakarta-based indie rock band, was selected for Spotify’s Early Noise feature. Beyond the five-piece band’s tracks, the Early Noise 2019: Tashoora playlist also includes an audio interview and a selection of music handpicked by the band to help fans around the world get to know them and their musical influences at a deeper level. As part of the feature, Spotify also worked together with the band to release a special video for their latest single, Hitam.
Streaming Habits
Today, fans can stream seamlessly on the Pop Indo Hub, an established part of the Spotify experience, allowing local content to be celebrated by anyone at any time.
Indonesian content with diverse sounds has hit the number one spot of the country’s Top 50 charts here on Spotify in recent years. This includes Marion Jola’s debut single “Jangan”, a breakthrough hit with more than 18 million streams to date; dangdut singer Via Vallen's “Meraih Bintang”, which was the 2018 Asian Games theme song; and Fiersa Besari's 2014 track “Waktu Yang Salah” which saw a rise in popularity on the platform earlier this year.
The growing popularity of older tracks should not surprise anyone. In fact, according to Spotify’s internal streaming data, Indonesian music fans love listening to their classics.
For example, Sheila On 7’s “Dan…” released in 1999, peaked at #7 on Spotify’s Top 50 charts last October – and the track is still trending on the charts today. Other tracks that have stood the test of time include Ada Band's “Manusia Bodoh” (2004), Maliq & d'Essentials’ “Untitled” (2005) and Ten 2 Five’s “You” (2005), all of which have consistently charted in the Top 200 since Spotify launched in Indonesia.
Music is a global connector, whether from one generation to another, across continents or among diverse communities in this modern world.
