LIFESTYLE
| January 30, 2019
 |
| The Spotify OPM Hub (Image Source; Daily Tribune/Spotify) |
The
OPM (Original Philippine Music) scene continues to trend in its own right direction
with the likes of the revived Tawag ng Tanghalan, PhilPop and Himig Handog among
key instruments in nurturing fresh new voices and boosting the industry in its continuing
commitment to maintain its prominence in today's modern world. As the new year
rolls on, it looks like another key instrument is making its own rise along
with the direction that the local music scene is taking today beyond the future
and that would be the popular global music streaming service Spotify.
At
the start of 2019, streams of OPM content were consumed more than a billion
times across different parts of the globe, and there are no imminent signs of
slowing down in the long run. Spotify's OPM Hub, which was launched in 2015,
has played a significant role in the strong traction of the Philippine music
scene as a platform not just of discovery for artists and music lovers, but
also one that can build bridges of cultural understanding among them just by
literally passing the mic.
Featuring
a wide library of favorite and well-loved OPM hits of the past, present and future,
the Spotify OPM Hub drove an overwhelmingly impressive number of streams and
was highly regarded as an avenue for its users around the world to share what
they have heard from the country's topnotch musical icons and discoveries. It
also included multiple tiers of content-featuring playlists for every moment of
the day. Some of its flagship playlists include Tatak Pinoy, OPM Favorites, OPM
Rising and Pinoy Covers. This outcome has eventually led to the rise of some of
the country's breakthrough hits in recent years such as Dahil Sa 'Yo by Iñigo
Pascual, Hiling by Mark Carpio, Again by Leanne and Neara, and Malaya by Moira
dela Torre.
Today,
the OPM Hub remains strong and resilient as part of the Spotify experience with
many users streaming their favorite local songs seamlessly allowing them to be
celebrated and appreciated. Since 2015, more OPM content has reached the top of
Spotify's top 50 charts in the Philippines dominated by the likes of Ben&Ben,
Moira Dela Torre, Juan Karlos Labajo and IV of Spades. There are some Filipino
Spotify users who like to enjoy listening to original soundtracks (OSTs) of
their favorite local films based on the service's internal data figures and it
is strongly evidenced by KZ Tandingan's "Two Less Lonely People In The
World" and Darren Espanto's "Dying Inside To Hold You".
