In honor of March being Women’s History Month and with International Women’s Day having been this past Saturday, we reflect on the growing influence of female artists in the music industry. From 2020 to 2024,¹ female artists have seen remarkable growth in their streaming presence among the Top 100 artists ranked by U.S. On-Demand Audio (ODA) streams. While male artists experienced a slight decline in share during these years (down 5.1 percentage points), female artists surged ahead with a 6.5 percentage point increase. In 2024, women still represented less than a quarter of the Top 100, but their growth rate of 130.1% — 112.9% when excluding Taylor Swift — far outpaced the 32.2% growth seen among male artists.
Focusing on current releases,² particularly within the Pop genre, we see a clear shift: Women are not only asserting their dominance but also reclaiming their position as the quintessential “Pop artists,” leaving a lasting impact on music consumption. In Luminate’s 2024 Year-End Music Report, we noted that solo female Pop artists made up 63.4% of overall streaming share when ranking the genre’s Top 100 artists. However, when analyzing only current releases the trend becomes even more striking: Female artists drove 69% of the ODA streaming share, reflecting an increase of 11.7 percentage points from 2023 and a prominent 102.8% streaming growth since 2020.
Zooming in on the Top 10, we see an even more remarkable trend: seven of the Top 10 Pop artists in 2024, based on current releases, are women, and collectively account for 82% of the streaming share. Notably, a number of these women are newer artists, such as Sabrina Carpenter (No. 3), Chappell Roan (No. 4), Olivia Rodrigo (No. 5) and Tate McRae (No. 10), highlighting the growing prominence of fresh voices alongside established stars like Taylor Swift (No. 1), Billie Eilish (No. 2) and Ariana Grande (No. 8). The rise of female representation in the Top 10 reflects how women are contributing new perspectives and energy to the current Pop music landscape.
The trend of female domination extends beyond mainstream Pop into sub-genres like Euro Pop and J-Pop, where women continue to make a significant impact. In Euro Pop, women account for 66% of the U.S. ODA streaming share among the Top 100 artists based on current releases in 2024, with a strong 68% share in the Top 10. Dua Lipa alone contributes 52% of the Top 10’s streaming share, ranking as the genre’s No. 1 artist. In J-Pop, female artists, including notable performers like Ado, XG, and TWICE, collectively contribute 68% of the streaming share in the Top 10 for current releases.
The growing presence of female artists in Pop music reflects a significant shift in the industry. With new voices rising alongside established stars, women are not only dominating the charts but also shaping the sound of modern music. As we celebrate Women’s History Month, the numbers show that women are playing a key role in reshaping the future of music.
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¹ Luminate’s 2024 tracking year includes 53 weeks due to a rare calendar occurrence. To ensure accurate year-over-year comparisons, the same 53-week period is applied to the years 2020-2023.
² Current releases are recordings that are 0-18 months old.
