Spotify Supports Mental Health As Fast-Growing “Genre” In Music & Podcasts

Spotify says Mental Health is one of its fastest-growing “genres” across the platform with an over 50% rise of interest in 2020.

According to a new report, playlists and music related to mental health — particularly keywords including “calm,” “mindfulness,” and “self-care” — are what users are seeking out. Compared to 2019, these keywords are searched and streamed 57% more in 2020, per data released on World Mental Health Day.

The music streaming service is also experiencing a 122% boost in podcast content related to mental health and self-help. That’s well over double the amount such programming was streamed in 2019, as mental health issues continue to rise.

Katarina Berg, Spotify’s Chief HR Officer says:

Mental health issues like depression and anxiety are increasing in society. They have been for years now, and there is nothing to indicate that this increase will stop. It affects how we can grow as humans and perform at work. So we want to do whatever we can to support and boost mental health among our employees and in society.

We’re seeing similar trends in the music itself as well. In 2020, Diplo dropped his first-ever ambient album MMXX and Marshmello released “It’s OK To Not Be OK” with Demi Lovato for Suicide Prevention Week. These are just a couple of examples, of course.

This year hasn’t been kind, but music is a powerful thing. Just a quick search will bring up a number of mental health / self-care / self-love inspired playlists to explore.