2015 Year in Review: Fans Reveal the Year's Top Acts

Music streaming service, Guvera, releases key findings from 2015. 

Dubai, UAE, January 9, 2016:  Guvera, the world’s fastest growing streaming service, has revealed the music the country was falling in love to in 2015.

Overall, the study found a competitive music landscape, with local musicians hitting charts alongside international artists. An eventful year for the United Arab Emirates, marking the increasing downloads of new releases by top artists such as Jessie J and Drake as well as love songs and popular tracks such as ‘Love Me Like You Do’ by Ellie Goulding and ‘Like I’m Gonna Lose You’ by Meghan Trainor. The record industry has seen a reported growth in the digital arena during 2015 due to the revenues generated from Guvera’s streaming services.

Guvera has also released a year in review playlist to celebrate its fans’ favourite music. Listen to it here: https://www.guvera.com/playlists/4271484.

The following insights are based on user behaviour data collected over 2015 by Guvera users across the GCC:

PLAYING FOR FAVOURITES…

• With the need for classics and popular party tracks taking over the scene, ‘POP’ is the top trending hashtag in the country, followed closely by ‘HITS’ and ‘FUN’
• Love songs, reggae and RnB continued to be the most popular genres of music in the region, with all the love UAE has shown to soulful ballads by chart-topping artists
• Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding is a reigning hit in the country

POPULARITY STAKES ARE HIGH

• Fifth Harmony, a revolutionary girl band brining its hits to the UAE streaming scene, has kept itself as one of the chart toppers in the country, rivalled closely by One Direction and Fall Out Boy, the 90’s cult-classic band
• Jessie J takes the cake as Top Female Artist
• Drake rules the scene at 2nd most popular artist and Top Male Artist in the country
• Bollywood and Local music genres trump all others on the local streaming charts 

WHO, WHEN, HOW? 

• As a mobile-loving community, Guvera users have a predilection for listening to music on the fly, especially during commutes and at significant timings such as lunch and midday
• Usage peaks during the weekend, and the stream streak continues into midweek when commuters enjoy their music at 9:00AM and 6:00PM 

According to Ananya Amin, Guvera’s Head of Business Development – Asia said, “The 2015’s trends show Guvera listeners have their fingers on the music pulse. Our listeners are in tune with both local emerging artists, as well as major international artists. They use music to express moods and define events in their lives. The 2015 trends we are seeing are a reflection of the UAE’s attitude towards music and it is a great overview of the year that was. With our ‘programmed globally, tuned locally’ approach, we ensure our music fans are able to access the best mix of local and international music, the most innovative streaming features such as #Play, and the best expertly curated playlists.”