TuneCore’s latest Accelerator Report shows the scale at which platform-led discovery is driving growth for independent artists, with more than 50 billion new streams and 15 billion track discoveries since its launch in 2023.
With over 100,000 tracks uploaded to streaming platforms daily, the report reflects a wider shift where distribution alone is no longer enough. Tools that influence discovery and audience targeting are increasingly central. TuneCore’s Accelerator, part of Believe, operates within this layer, focusing on matching releases with listeners and driving repeat engagement.
Over the past 12 months, the platform contributed to 2.8 billion artist discoveries and 6.8 billion track discoveries. More than 14,000 artists generated streaming royalties for the first time through Accelerator, while another 14,000 crossed one million streams. Around 500 artists surpassed 100 million streams, with close to 42,000 reaching milestones that place them in the top 25% of artists globally across DSPs.
Nearly a quarter of artists hitting these milestones generated at least half of their total streams through Accelerator, pointing to the growing role of platform-led amplification in artist growth.
Catalogue continues to play a role. Tracks older than 18 months delivered 24% higher revenue when activated through Accelerator, highlighting how older releases are being re-surfaced and monetised alongside new music.
Artists with tracks activated in Accelerator are seeing their streaming numbers skyrocket across all genres. R&B/Hip Hop (+5.4 billion streams), Latin (+3.4 billion), Pop (+2.1 billion), Electronic (+1.5 billion), Christian / Gospel (+1.5 billion), Singer-Songwriter (+1.3 billion), and Country(+1.1 billion) tracks have seen particularly impressive gains from the program in the past year.
According to Brian Miller, Chief Revenue Officer at TuneCore, the shift in discovery from editorial ecosystems to playlists and social platforms continues to shape how independent artists build audiences.
The platform has 515,000 artists enrolled on the platform, with TuneCore Accelerator directly responsible for more than 50 billion new streams and 15 billion track discoveries since the platform’s launch. Last year, Believe Group’s proprietary catalog optimiser, which powers TuneCore’s Accelerator, was enhanced to more effectively select artists and tracks with a higher likelihood for success, resulting in 24 billion new streams generated for selected artists throughout the past year, representing a 17% increase in generated new streams since last year’s report.
TuneCore Accelerator is fuelling streaming growth for artists around the world, helping tracks reach new audiences and build momentum across key global markets. In the past year, the US, Brazil, France, Germany, the UK, and Mexico showed significant growth, posting 33%, 35%, 31%, 26%, 31%, and 63% streaming growth rates for tracks in TuneCore Accelerator.
Case Study:
DOTM’s trunk-rattling hip-hop practically bursts through speakers, so it’s no surprise their success through TuneCore Accelerator was immediate and explosive. DOTM has activated 13 tracks since December 2024, generating close to 1M streams through TuneCore Accelerator. That led to the titanic success of “Bhala Kyun” in DOTM’s native Delhi and beyond (1.5M Spotify streams, 1 in 3 from TuneCore Accelerator across platforms), alongside national visibility as a standout contestant on MTV Hustle 4, and 2.7M Spotify streams over the last twelve months.
DOTM commented, “Accelerator lets me focus on creating while it takes care of the algorithm. I’m seeing spikes in music I released two years ago and reaching countries I never even targeted.”
Akhila Shankar, Head of TuneCore, South Asia commented, “DOTM represents the kind of commanding delivery that defines India’s hip-hop movement today. The sound is local, the perspective is rooted in the region, but the emotion travels and that’s what gives it global potential. At a broader ecosystem level, our role is to build infrastructure that helps Indian pop culture move across the subcontinent and beyond. What platforms like TuneCore Accelerator enable is scale; When artists are already creating something culturally powerful, smart technology can amplify how far and how precisely that music travels.”
Read the full report here.
