Old songs dominate streaming as new artists compete for attention

Nearly two-thirds of music played in the UK and US in the first half of 2026 was at least five years old, according to music data company Luminate — a sign of how streaming has made back catalogues central to listening even as new songs flood platforms.

More than 100,000 tracks are submitted to streaming services each day, the BBC reports. But in the UK, 18 of the 20 biggest-selling songs of 2026 so far were released at least a year ago. Zara Larsson’s 2015 hit “Lush Life” ranked eighth, while Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” also featured in the top 30.

Luminate’s figures show that music released within the past 18 months accounts for a much smaller share of streams than older music. In the US, around 60% of streams in the two most-played genres, R&B and hip-hop, were of older catalogue tracks, the company says.

The BBC report points to several possible reasons. Streaming offers listeners instant access to decades of music, while popular tracks can hold chart positions for months. The Sam Fender and Olivia Dean duet “Rein Me In” spent a record 23 non-consecutive weeks at number one in the UK, according to the report.

The concentration of listening on a small number of artists may also make it harder for new acts to break through. The UK Competition and Markets Authority has said nearly two-thirds of streams are of music recorded by just 0.4% of artists. Some industry figures argue that viral success does not necessarily translate into lasting interest in an artist’s wider work.

Streaming recommendations are another point of concern. Musicologist Anna-Kaisa Kaila told the BBC that AI-driven playlists could reflect biases in their training data, making less commercially dominant styles harder to surface. DJ and curator Tim Garcia said recommendations based on listening behaviour may keep directing people towards music similar to what they already enjoy.

Some artists also question whether playlists clearly distinguish human-made recordings from synthetic tracks. Independent musician Chiminyo told the BBC that tracks in a popular relaxing-jazz playlist sounded strikingly alike and appeared to be mass-produced. Spotify said it had introduced platform-wide policies against impersonation and was improving its handling of AI-related issues, while noting that artists use AI in different ways.

The figures do not mean new music has disappeared: current songs can still become major hits, and streaming platforms say they are working to promote emerging artists. Apple Music chief Oliver Schusser told the BBC that the service wants to help develop performers for the future. The challenge is getting listeners to discover them in a market where familiar songs dominate so much of the play.