In 2024, the world of releasing music is super competitive, noisy, and saturated; and it’s only getting worse. According to Billboard, over 100,000 songs are uploaded to DSPs every day.
The good news is, here at Groover we believe that artists have a ton of tools at their disposal to cut through all that noise and build an audience. And one such tool is the power of cross-genre collaboration!
What does that mean exactly? A “cross-genre collab” is when two artists from notably different musical genres collide for a track that has ingredients from both genres in order to help garner a wider listenership (and likely some high praise from the press in tandem!). That could mean a full on collaboration or simply a guest feature on one artist’s track; both work. Think: Hip-Hop and Country, Salsa and R&B, or even Classical and Reggae.
Remember in 1986 when Run-D.M.C. “covered” Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” but tapped the band to join in on the new version to create an entirely new rap/rock hybrid sub-genre? That song was a watershed moment in music history and still gets millions of plays per year.
But if you’re an artist already working super hard to establish one fanbase, wouldn’t it be counterintuitive to spend time seeking out another? As it turns out, the cross-genre collab could be a great way to solidify and expand both!
Let’s break it down!
1. The Numbers Don’t Lie
Looking at data provided by Spotify in 2023, cross-genre collaborations can help both emerging and established artists tap into new markets, freshen their appeal and expand their brand, and boost the algorithmic push to both artists’ full catalogs.
It’s called “The Crossover Effect,” and it works. “While these collaborations offer new avenues for creative exploration, they also bring together each artist’s distinct fan bases, providing an opportunity for everyone involved to expand their audiences,” reports Spotify.
Just look at the numbers.
A closed survey conducted by the Spotify analytics team registered that 75% of crossover collaborations yielded at least a 10% lift in streams across both artists’ entire catalogs. And of those artists, over half saw a 50% increase, and 30% saw an increase of 100%. In essence, that means people are hearing the collab track and then diving in to check out both artists work in the long run.
Not only that, but collabs such as this come with a Search bump too. According to this same Spotify study, “many Spotify fans often start with search…and when they discover a new artist through a crossover collab, we’ve noticed a sizable jump in searches for that artist.”
After the release of Grupo Frontera’s collaboration with Bad Bunny on “un x100to,” searches for the lesser-known group surged over 330% for weeks.
Similarly, indie rock outfit The National saw an enormous bump of close to 1,600% on the day of release for “The Alcott,” their collaboration with Taylor Swift.
This also has a regional market trickle effect as well.
When Nigerian afropop artist Rema released her track “Calm Down,” it did very well in Africa but was barely known outside the continent, until she tapped American pop star Selena Gomez for a new collab version of the track in 2022. In the months to follow, daily Spotify streams of the track went up by 230% in North America alone. (And meanwhile, Selena Gomez got a streaming bump of over 120% across Sub-Saharan Africa.)
The same thing happened when American singer Ice Spice and Brit PinkPantheress teamed up for a collab on “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2.” In the months to follow, daily Spotify streams of PinkPantheress rose by 250% in the U.S. and Ice Spice’s dailies were up by around 1,400% in the U.K. alone.
2. Weird and Wild: Our 10 Favorite Cross-Genre Collabs of All Time
Before we get too deep into this conversation, why don’t we have a listen to some of the weirdest, most fun cross-genre collaborations that have shaken up the industry and gotten totally stuck in our heads for years!
1. Aerosmith & Run DMC – “Walk This Way”
2. Nelly & Tim McGraw – “Over and Over Again”
3. Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus – “Old Town Road (Remix)”
4. Santana with Ms. Lauryn Hill & CeeLo Green – “Do You Like The Way”
5. Weezer & Lil Wayne – “Can’t Stop Partying”
6. Linkin Park & Jay-Z – “Numb / Encore”
7. Kid Rock & Sheryl Crow – “Picture”
8. Ke$ha & Iggy Pop – “Dirty Love”
9. Andrea Bocelli & Dua Lipa – “If Only”
10. Eminem & Bon Iver – “Fall”
3. Okay But What Does This Have to Do With Me???
We understand that you’re probably not Taylor Swift or Ice Spice (or are you? If so, get in touch!), so it might be naïve to expect a 1,300% increase in listener exposure overnight in your case. But that’s okay, there are still a number of great ways that a cross-genre collab can help you out.
Firstly, don’t underestimate how fun these can be. Whether you’re going into the studio with a new kind of artist for the first time or working remotely by sharing files, a project like this can truly open up your creative horizons and reinvigorate what can sometimes be a thankless slog! Music production that is.
Secondly, even if a track with a new feature collaboration doesn’t deliver you the accolades and riches it has with some Top 40 artists in the past, it does send a message to the world — to press and promotion outlets, to other artists, to your established fans — that you’re willing to break the mold and take some wild chances. And that’s exciting! People want to rally around and get behind artists that prove their pushing their creative boundaries, and this is just the first step.
Thirdly, cross-genre collabs open your music up to tastemakers and playlist curators who would’ve never heard it before, giving you a leg up from the rest with extra gatekeepers on your side. Don’t forget that the Spotify algorithm loves diversity; if your track is being added to tons of different kinds of playlists, it’ll get boosted on even more, getting you ever closer to reaching that ultimate tipping point.
And lastly, this is great practice for learning how to accommodate and execute projects with a variety of collaborators. If you’re collabing with a producer from Puerto Rico, or a singer from India, or an instrumentalist from Taiwan for example, naturally you’re going to be immersed in a learning experience of professionalism, communication, respect, compromise, etc. All of which will help you deeply in the long tail of your career.
Conclusion
So there you have it! Take some inspiration from our playlist of classic cross-genre collabs and see if you can get yourself involved with a stylistic hybrid track yourself.
If you do end up creating the next world-crushing single, let us know! Tell us about your experience in the comments and don’t forget to submit your track on Groover. With our professional feedback and promotional help, we can give your newest experiment the boost it needs to find audiences in all the right places !