A Matter of Faith: Christian/Gospel Music rises as streaming growth slows

Christian music is making a resurgence across the country, along with a style called "recession pop."

The Midyear Music Report 2025 noted that the growth of online music streaming is slowing worldwide. However, it notes that there are still significant opportunities for growth, especially in the Christian/Gospel genre.

According to the study, this resurgence is due to a combination of factors: continued artistic evolution, increased accessibility thanks to digital platforms, the influence of contemporary worship movements, the momentum of subgenres such as Christian Hip-Hop, and a growing demand for authentic content from audiences.

Among the top 10 genres in the country, Christian/Gospel climbed the charts and overtook World Music - a genre encompassing K-pop and Afrobeats - to rank seventh in volume of on-demand audio (ODA) plays. This development stands out in a landscape in which most genres have remained stable since 2024.

The report also notes that Rock is the genre with the highest relative growth so far this year, and that Blues is experiencing a boost thanks to the release of the Sinners soundtrack and the parallel activity of the featured artists involved in it.

"Alternative rock leads all subgenres in volume change, while Regional Mexican, R&B, heavy rock and Christian music round out the top five in growth," the report details.

The data

In the first half of 2025, music streams continued to increase both globally and in the United States. Globally, on-demand audio streams reached 2.5 trillion, compared with 2.29 trillion recorded in the same period last year.

In the United States, audio streams rose to 696 billion in 2025, up from 665 billion in 2024.

Although more music is being streamed now than ever before, the pace of growth is slower than in previous years. In 2024, audio streaming grew by 8% in the US and 15.1% globally. By 2025, the figures dropped to 4.6% and to 10.3%, respectively.