Here’s How Sleep Soundtracks are Dominating the Streaming Market

Short-form audio recordings designed to lull their listeners into a better night’s sleep are racking up massive numbers across streaming platforms. 

Sleep soundtracks have been a massive success for indie music producers looking to boost their stream counts.

One such example, Strange Fruit Music, originally started as a dance music label but launched Sleep Fruits Music this year and now brings in millions of streams every day from its sleep soundtrack releases. Sleep Fruit Music’s top five most streamed tracks are all recordings of falling rain.

While rain recordings have proven to be an instant classic, the sleep soundtrack market offers a wide range of sounds, catering to every possible preference on the market.

Pink noise, typically known simply as a bassier alternative to white noise, can be effectively achieved using a variety of timbres. Ambient sound baths and natural sounds, like waves breaking or the sound of wind, can carry the same benefits of static pink noise when mixed correctly. Pink noise has been shown in some studies to promote deeper, more restful sleep.

These tracks, which often require minimal effort to produce compared to the average song, pay out the same amount per stream as a regular song would. Then there’s the fact that the sleeping listener typically leaves these tracks on repeat all night until they wake up the next morning. 
Not surprisingly, sleep soundtrack creators cut their tracks to be just long enough to register as a valid stream, but as short as possible otherwise so that the song is replayed as many times as possible in a set time frame.

In combining all these simple factors, it’s plain to see how this sleepy niche has managed to disrupt the streaming landscape overnight.