EDM Vs. Hip-Hop: Which Music Genre is the Most Influential One?

In the world of music, there are two specific genres that have grown the most. One is hip-hop, and the other is electronic dance music, also known as EDM. If you observe the industry closely, then you will get to understand that these two are the genres that have the potential to garner the maximum number of audiences. All the renowned music creators that are ruling the industry are from these two genres only. From this, it can be understood that these are the most dominant genres that are shaping the industry. However, it is very difficult to say which particular genre is ruling the industry. Understanding the key differences of these genres can be helpful in this matter. So, here are the major differences between EDM and hip-hop-

    • Cultural context: 

EDM came out and grew from clubs with the help of DJs. On the other hand, hip-hop started to make cultural moves. Artists started rapping to voice their opinions. So, the cultural context is quite different between these two genres.

    • Essential elements: 

The key elements of EDM are machines like synthesizers, loops, drums, and more. And the elements of hip-hop are beats, rhythmic spoken words, and sampling. These make the genres different from each other. 

    • Primary focus: 

The primary focus on EDM is the dance-friendly beats and electronic instrumental music production. The primary focus of hip-hop is vocal delivery, rap, and cultural expression. 

Both of these music genres are quite different in many ways and influence the musical space. And that is what makes it more difficult to understand which one is the leading one. It can be a little easier if we break down the impact and market share of both these genres. Here is the breakdown of hip-hop and EDM- 

    • How is hip-hop influencing the music industry? 

When it comes to understanding the influence of hip-hop music in the music industry, a few major factors need to be observed. Here are some of them- 

    1. Potential to offer a billion streams: 

By understanding the genre and learning its potential for giving more streams, it can be said that hip-hop music is offering more streams. If you look at Spotify, you will be able to understand that all the hip-hop artists are getting more plays. With each passing day, more artists are being produced in this genre. That is why, hip-hop genre is growing more and more. Hip-hop is a certain kind of genre that has the potential to influence a larger number of audiences from different age groups. That is why accumulating billions of streams is much easier for this genre. 

    2. The chances of collaboration: 

Hip-hop is a kind of genre that gets to collaborate with various other music genres and still sounds fresh. It is quite a brilliant quality of the genre that makes it innovative in every way. In other music genres, it has been seen that it is not easy to collaborate with every kind of music genre. Thus, there is a flexibility in this music genre that makes beat-making much easier. When the crossover of hip-hop with some other genre happens, there is a unique kind of aesthetic that soothes the hearts of the listeners. So, it can be easily said that hip-hop is a genre that has the potential to deliver much better music than any other genre. 

    3. Market share: 

Hip-hop is a genre that has the top position in 2025. This particular genre provides a total of 30% of total streams. Therefore, it is clear that it has the largest share in the music industry. The number of hip-hop music creators and the influence of this creation is the largest. On the other hand, EDM only offers 5.2% of the streams. So, there is no comparison of market share between these two music genres. 

    4. Global reach: 

On all the major music streaming sites, hip-hop is a music genre that is listened to more than any other music genre. Hip-hop and rap some specific categories that are loved by most of the audience. All the songs of this genre are made in a way that they can make a deeper impact on the listeners. That is why soundtracks of this genre are accepted more easily by the listeners. With each passing day, hip-hop is garnering more listeners and pushing its global reach. Hence, it can be said that hip-hop has the potential to achieve more global reach. 

    • How is EDM influencing the music space? 

There are many elements of EDM that can help to understand its effect on the music industry. Let’s find out more about them- 

    1. Viral growth: 

Electronic dance music has the potential to go viral more easily on social media sites. Some genres of electronic music are witnessing rapid growth on social media sites. In the past few years, EDM has reached out to more audiences in this specific manner. That is why a sudden change is coming to see in this specific genre. With the help of social media sites, this music genre is being able to gain more listeners and influencing the world of music, and eventually has more digital footprints. 

    2. A stronghold on festivals: 

EDM is a music genre that has a stronghold on music festivals. If you observe all the music festivals, you will get to understand that most of the festivals rely on this specific genre because it helps one to have more fun. It really goes with the environment of a music festival. EDM has had the chance to grow at a large scale in the past few years. Along with that, several music festivals also conduct a live stream on social media platforms, which leads to getting more streams in a hassle-free way. The 2025 Tomorrowland festival got a total of 74 million streams on TikTok. So, it can be said that EDM is growing more with each passing time and getting the chance to increase engagement among the audiences. 

    3. Collaborations: 

It is true that EDM is not a kind of music genre that can collaborate with all kinds of artists, but in the past few years, it has given most successful collaborations of all time. Renowned pop stars have collaborated with the EDM artists, and that has led to gaining a large number of streams. For example, the collaboration of Justin Bieber with DJ Snake, or Tyga with Marshmellow has helped to create a huge buzz on the internet. So, it can be said that EDM is expanding and reaching out to more number of audience in a much hassle-free manner. 

    4. Unique streaming strategy: 

One of the most unique factors of EDM is that most of its soundtracks are consumed via digital services. If you look closely, then you will get to understand that most EDM songs are heard in specific sectors like advertisement, fitness, gaming, and more. These are some innovative ways to gain more streams of this genre. It is the diverse way of achieving streaming that is helping the music genre to expand more in a much easier manner. 

Both music genres are better in their own way. EDM and hip-hop come with their unique opportunities. That is why it is truly difficult to say which one is more effective. It can now be said that both of them are the most influential music genres in the industry.