If Brat Summer’s domination of 2024 taught us anything, it's that music trends have the power to shape pop culture. Creators who successfully ride the latest viral wave tend to earn themselves tons of subscribers and even more views as a result.
Want to stay ahead of the curve with trending music? We crunched the numbers from Uppbeat's 3 million users to reveal the top copyright free music they're downloading, as well as the most popular genres. The result is this list of the must-have music trends for 2025, with genres and moods to suit all types of creators.
See how music trends have shifted in the last year by heading over to our guide on 2024’s biggest music trends.
- Bring the feels with sad music
- Relaxing lofi beats for laid-back videos
- Add attitude with fresh rap and hip hop
- Brighten edits with catchy pop gems
- Authentic country music for relatable creators
- Heartfelt folk tracks for introspective content
- High-energy house beats to up the energy
- Cinematic music to bring Hollywood levels of epic
Bring the feels with sad music
It might seem downbeat to kick things off with sad music, but the rise in searches has been undeniable – an almost 50% increase in the last 12 months! And while ‘sad’ was the most-searched term in that time, there’s a variety of sounds that come under this category.
Some of the most-downloaded tracks include Brock Hewitt’s beautiful Ages Ago, used by Véronique Francoeur as a stripped-back accompaniment to her hand-drawn storyboard. Or Yasumu’s Blue Waters which worked well when paired with nature shots in love.tateshina’s stunning clip. Embrace the melancholy and find the perfect pensive soundtrack for your reflective videos.
Relaxing lofi beats for chilled-out content creators
Lofi is undeniably one of the most popular genres for creators – several of the most-downloaded tracks on Uppbeat fall into this laid-back category. The beauty of lofi music is that its fresh beats and chilled-out air can pair with almost all content, lending it an effortlessly cool vibe.
As an example, short-form creator Busy Hands Leather uses AVBE’s Night in Kyoto as a relaxing soundtrack to their super satisfying wallet-making video. Clearly lots of creators also love this tune – it was the second most downloaded track on Uppbeat last year!
Add attitude with fresh rap and hip hop
Want a bold, impactful soundtrack for your content? Rap music and hip hop beats are always a winner! Searches for rap music on Uppbeat almost doubled last year, and hip hop remains one of the most searched genres too.
Artist Devon Rodriguez uses hip hop beats to bring an urban feel to his speed drawing videos. The distinctive combination of beats and sample loops will immediately bring a cool vibe to your edits.
Brighten edits with addictively catchy pop gems
It’s hardly ground-breaking to see pop music among the most searched for and downloaded genres. The combination of catchy hooks and universal appeal make it the ideal choice for lots of creators.
Joey Graceffa brings a peppy energy to his intros with pop music. His videos are a perfect demonstration of how pop bangers can instantly inject the feel-good factor into your content.
Call it the Charli XCX effect, but the terms ‘glitch’ and ‘hyperpop’ both saw huge increases in searches during 2024.
Authentic country music for relatable creators
Country music has always been popular, but it’s currently enjoying a resurgence – when Beyoncé is hopping on the country bandwagon, you know it’s a big deal! We’ve seen a massive 58% increase in searches for country music on Uppbeat too.
The warm, acoustic-driven sound and lyrics lend themselves perfectly to storytelling, and creators clearly can’t get enough. Boomas BBQ uses Reakt Music’s Deep Stone to give his pork belly tutorial an authentic americana vibe. It’s a clever way to signal to your audience that this is genuine, rustic content.
Heartfelt folk tracks for introspective content
Want to make a personal connection with your audience? Folk music’s stripped-back aesthetic is an obvious choice for creators leaning into their authenticity. As an example, Jonna Jinton matches majestic footage of northern Sweden with understated folk music that reflects the grounded essence of her lifestyle.
Folk also pairs perfectly with heartfelt narratives. Which is why the likes of Iros Young’s Amazing Day and Mark July’s Today Is The Day have been some of the most-downloaded tracks on Uppbeat this year.
High-energy house beats to up the energy
Fast-paced edits and engaging visuals are proven to work with upbeat house music. It’s a high-tempo shortcut to getting your viewers pumped. Which is why Trendsetter by Mood Maze is one of Uppbeat’s most popular downloads.
TheCookingExperience used house music to add excitement to their quick crème brûlée recipe – taking something that could be homely and chill, and giving it some added oomph. So if you’re on the hunt for an upbeat, energizing soundtrack for your edits, house music could be the answer.
Cinematic music to bring Hollywood levels of epic
When you need to ramp up the tension in your edits, take a cue from Hollywood. They’ll often use grand cinematic music and sweeping orchestral arrangements to deliver blockbuster-levels of intensity.
YouTube magician Zach King uses cinematic music in a similar way to bring the drama in his massive Alaskan challenge video. It just shows how picking the right track can make a huge difference to your edits, and explains why searches for cinematic music were up 55% last year.
Uppbeat lets you keep up with the latest music trends
It’s only natural that you’ll want to stay ahead of the curve as a content creator. The best way to keep up-to-date with what other creators are searching for is by heading to Uppbeat’s Trending page. Here you’ll find what over 3 million creators are downloading the most from our world-class catalog of copyright-free music.
New trends pop off all the time on the likes of TikTok and YouTube. When you spot one you’d like to get involved with, find the ideal soundtrack to match on Uppbeat. Sign up for free and start downloading tracks you can safely use without worrying about copyright claims.
