Production Music Trends: Fall 2020

Our featured trends for Fall 2020– from global culture, to production techniques, to annual sales patterns. 

International Influence

2020 and the recent years preceeding have been a hugely important time for amplifying POC and non-white voices. Listening trends reflect this, as music that signals diversity and inclusion sits at the top of the media landscape in 2020.  

Latin music has had a massive year both on the commercial charts and in production music.  The sound is typically upbeat, lively, and highly rhythmic which has made for countless latin and latin inspired hits over the decades. Today in the midst of the streaming revolution, Latin music’s popularity is reaching new heights, and the sound will no doubt continue to be a hot commodity in the production music sphere.

K-pop and J-pop have put their own spin on the pop star archetype, taking the genre to extreme new levels.  These hyper-stylized artists are the new face of pop music around the world and their impact on the production music industry is evident in the currently circulating sounds for synch.  Keep up with these far-east chart-toppers for the latest trends in pop music as the genre develops in the 2020s.

Sidechained Kick Drums

Sidechaining is a production technique in which one audio signal triggers a separate audio effect.  The use of sidechained compression triggered by a kick or even a bass signal results in a quick dip in volume on the rest of the track so that the kick or bass sound is then louder in comparison.  Sidechaining had been a trick of the trade in beat making for ages before the sound reached widespread, overt popularity in the 2010’s.  It was at this point that experimental producers ramped up the effect to the point that the sound became a defining feature on many tracks.

Heavy sidechaining is now both a commonly used production staple and an iconic sound in itself depending on the level at which the effect is applied.  Electronic, pop, hip-hop, experimental, and even rock producers can benefit greatly from understanding this production technique and applying it in accordance with the needs of their music.

Seasonal: Holiday Music

Each year between the months of October and December, the production music industry sees a jump in activity.  As companies roll out new marketing pushes for the holidays, all types of music are needed for their productions, but especially holiday music.  Traditional Christmas music, Hanukkah music, modern spins on old classics, and anything with sleigh bells are all widely sought after as the holiday rush approaches.

Make sure all your music can easily be found by staying on top of your tracks’ metadata tagging.