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Spotify reveals the 20 most-streamed rock bands in the world

In celebration of the Internatiional Day of Rock N Roll, Spotify has drawn back the curtain on its own rock charts, with some surprising results.

By Brandon JohnPublished Jul 14, 2017
2 min read
twenty one pilots

Let's be honest, Spotify does most of its business in the camp of artists and playlists that usually skew a bit more contemporary than The Beatles or Panic! At The Disco, but there are still plenty of rock lovers dodging that EDM workout playlist in favour of guitar bands.

In celebration of the International Day of Rock N Roll (actually the anniversary of Live Aid's 1985 mega-festival), Spotify has drawn back the curtain on which rock acts are the most-streamed by its listeners, and there are some surprising results.

A solid handful of bands from the '00s are proving they have some serious staying power, while other huge names like The Strokes and Radiohead are nowhere to be seen, and the battle between the Beatles and Stones seems to have been won quite conclusively in the end.

As Billboard notes, rock certainly isn't in the healthiest place if Spotify streaming is anything to go by, and only two of the top 50 songs on Spotify right now feature 'rock' bands at all - Imagine Dragons, and Colplay. The former don't appear on these lists, surprisingly, while Coldplay are only in the top 50 thanks to a collab with, yes, The Chainsmokers.

There appears to be a discrepancy involving Imagine Dragons, too. Billboard has them holding down three of the top six spots on its own rock charts, and asserts that they must surely have the numbers to make it onto these charts, but for now their absence is a mystery.

Still, with both the global and U.S. charts revealed, it makes for an interesting comparison in listening habits.

Top 20 rock acts globally on Spotify

1. Coldplay 2. Twenty One Pilots 3. The Beatles 4. Linkin Park 5. Red Hot Chili Peppers 6. Panic! At The Disco 7. Metallica 8. Arctic Monkeys 9. Queen 10. Fall Out Boy 11. Green Day 12. AC/DC 13. Pink Floyd 14. Blink-182 15. Paramore 16. Guns N’ Roses 17. Nirvana 18. The Rolling Stones 19. The 1975 20. Kings of Leon

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Top 20 rock acts in the U.S. on Spotify

1. Twenty One Pilots 2. Coldplay 3. Panic! At The Disco 4. The Beatles 5. Fall Out Boy 6. Red Hot Chili Peppers 7. Linkin Park 8. Blink-182 9. Metallica 10. Green Day 11. The 1975 12. Paramore 13. Five Finger Death Punch 14. Queen 15. Led Zeppelin 16. AC/DC 17. Pink Floyd 18. Arctic Monkeys 19. Mumford & Sons 20. Three Days Grace

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THE MUSIC NETWORK NEWSLETTER

Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.

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By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services.