Spotify reports 435% surge in Arabesk music listenership

Spotify data reveals a significant resurgence in Arabesk music, with listenership growing by 435 percent since 2020 and maintaining an annual growth rate of over 31 percent. This trend is driven primarily by younger generations; in Turkey, 77 percent of Arabesk listeners are under the age of 30, with the 18–24 age group accounting for 44 percent of the total.

The genre's popularity extends beyond Turkey, with Germany ranking as the second most listened-to country for Arabesk, followed by the Netherlands and France. Among international listeners, 61 percent are under 30 years old.

In terms of artist popularity, Semicenk currently leads as the most-listened-to Arabesk artist of all time, followed by legends Müslüm Gürses and Ahmet Kaya. Other prominent names in the top five include Ebru Gündeş and İbrahim Tatlıses. Data also shows that in Turkey, listening peaks around 18:00, remaining high between 14:00 and 19:00.