Hip hop most downloaded genre on Splice for third year in a row

Hip hop was the most downloaded genre on sample library Splice in 2025, for the third year in a row.

The findings were published as part of Splice's Sounds 2026 report, collated in collaboration with MIDiA Research, where it was revealed that users downloaded 55.5 million hip hop samples in 2025.

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Trap was listed as the most popular sub-genre, though G-funk, boom bap, and rage all similarly saw an increase in downloads from users of the platform.

With 40.8 million downloads, house music was the second most-downloaded genre on Splice in 2025; Afro house saw a massive 778% growth with 6.7 million downloads and 1.3 million searches, while melodic house also grew significantly with 3.2 million downloads — a 275% increase.

While pop, R&B, and EDM were among the other most popular genres on the platform, speed garage saw a 625% increase with 3 million samples last year; hard techno racked up 3.4 million downloads, jump up drum 'n' bass saw 1.7 million, and hard house saw 1.2 million.

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The majority of downloads were from the US, with Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco making up a significant portion of Splice's user base. Seoul, Sydney, Melbourne, Berlin, and London were also among the cities with the biggest number of downloads.

For more information on Splice's Sounds 2026 report, click here.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on X