Reggae and dancehall music have been making an impact on Pandora radio and streaming platforms for years and the genres account for billions of streams.
The platform released its 2022 Caribbean artist to watch list and it comprises songs and new artists “who are making a splash and breaking barriers in Caribbean music”.
The basic features of Pandora are free with advertisements or limitations, while additional features, such as improved streaming quality, music downloads and offline channels are offered via paid subscriptions.
The company is owned by satellite radio company SiriusXM Radio Inc. and makes up 1% of music streaming consumption. Paying only $0.00133 per stream, artists need 1,106,767 total plays on Pandora Premium to earn just $1,472.
Still, streaming platforms like Pandora become increasingly important to reggae artists since 80% the music industry revenue comes from streaming music royalties.
Here are the top ten most stream reggae and dancehall artists on Pandora:
- 10
With ‘Cheerleader’ as his top song, Omi is considered a moderate mainstream artist with 535 Million streams. Whilst his songs are not out right reggae, he is still regarded as a reggae artist. “Hula Hoop” and “As Long As I Am With You” make up his top three most streamed songs on the platform.
- 9
One of four Marleys to make the list, Damian has surpassed 679 million pandora streams. His is regarded as an epic artist on the platform with hits like ‘Welcome To Jamrock’ and ‘Road To Zion’ feat. Nas and More Justice.
- 8
Ziggy has 757.2 Million streams on the platform. ‘Beach In Hawaii’, ‘Three Little Birds’ (live) and ‘Got To Be True To Myself’ are his most streamed songs.
- 7
With 800 Million all time streams, Stephen Marley’s catalogue of hits include song he produced and songs as lead singer. “Hey Baby” with Mos Def, “Lonely Avenue”, and “Someone To Love” are his top songs.
- 6
Stick Figure
One of the more successful reggae bands, Stick Figure resides in the top 5 of the Billboard reggae chart for the last year. They have 806 Million Pandora streams. Their top songs are “All For You” and “Sound Of The Sea”.
- 5
New Orleans, Louisiana, born Bermuda raised reggae singer Collie Buddz has 853 Million streams on Pandora. His top songs are “Love And Reggae”, “Good Life” and “Blind To You”.
4.
“Mr. Lover Lover” has been at the top of global music for the last 20 years. His breakout album “Hot Shot” and countless other contribute to his rich legacy with over 20 million albums sold. Even with all his accomplishments, the Grammy winner never stayed far from Jamaica and his roots as a reggae star. He has 1.1 Billion streams on Pandora. His top songs are “Angel” with Rayvon, “It Wasn’t Me” and “Boombastic”.
- 3
Rebelution is a reggae rock music band formed in Isla Vista, California. With University of California schoolmates Eric, Rory, Marley, the band has one of the bigger reggae music fan bases. They have 1.6 Billion Pandora plays. Their top songs are “Roots Reggae Music” (feat. Don Carlos), “Lazy Afternoon”, and “Lay My Claim”.
2.
Sean Paul
This “Got To Love You” Deejay ties with Rebelution at 1.6 Billion streams on Pandora. Where he edges them out is the number of unique listeners. In the last month 2,454,363 people listened to his music, while Rebelution’s unique listening audience is 919,542. Sean is among a short list of artists to take authentic dancehall music to the mainstream. His top songs are “Temperature”, “Baby Boy” (Feat. Beyonce), and “Contra La Pared”.
- Bob Marley
The most streamed reggae artist on Pandora is Bob Marley. With 3 Billion streams, his music and messages of Love transcends generations.
Legend: Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers has been on the Billboard reggae chart for more than 90 weeks. His top songs on Pandora are “Three Little Birds”, “Turn Your Lights Down Low” (feat. Lauryn Hill), and “Duppy Conqueror”.
