Afro House jumped from 23rd to 4th in producer searches [IMS Ibiza 2025 Report]

Search trends on Beatport show a global turn toward Afro House, Hard Dance, and Drum & Bass in 2024.

Inside the genre data shared in the IMS Business Report 2025, one section stood out for its raw insight into producer behavior. Beatport’s Loopmaster search trends revealed that in 2024, the tools producers searched for – and the genres they were most curious about – pointed to a dramatic shift in taste.

The breakout story, however, was Afro House, which vaulted from 23rd to 4th in the most-searched producer genres in just one year. Importantly, that wasn’t an anomaly. In parallel, genres like Drum & Bass, Trap, and Hard Dance also surged in searches, further indicating a growing appetite for rhythm-forward, high-impact sounds.

Conversely, softer genres such as Chillout, Ambient, and Downtempo lost ground, suggesting that many creators are responding to the emotional intensity of today’s world by leaning into heavier, more urgent sonic palettes.

The data reflects more than musical taste – it’s a snapshot of a cultural mood. In an era defined by tension and speed, music creation is skewing hard, global, and highly energized. And in that wave, Afro House is no longer rising—it’s already arrived.

You can download the IMS Business Report, written by Mark Mulligan and MIDiA research here.