Deathstep Jazz. Alien Grind Deathcore. Vampire Football Rap. These are just a few of the oddly specific microgenres that surfaced in Spotify’s 2024 ‘Wrapped’ lists. While their names might sound more like punchlines than playlists, these niche categories represent more than just musical preferences- they’re signals of hyper-personalized taste profiles that AI can detect and define with uncanny precision. And the rise of the microgenre isn’t limited to music. It’s reshaping how marketers, creators, and platforms approach content, connection, and culture.

Genre Big Bang

A trend we’ve been tracking, Genre Big Bang, marks the radical departure from traditional genre categorizations in entertainment, music, food, and fashion that is fueling a creative explosion that blends past and present, local and global.

Spotify tracks over 80 broad genres, but the real magic happens in the microgenres, like “Lo-Fi Country Reggae” or “Synthwave Jazz”, that AI generates by mapping millions of data points. It’s not about just playing the usual tracks anymore. It’s about curating music and content so tailored to our tastes that it feels like someone’s reading our minds.

Some marketing analysts might dub this period “Post-Genre,” but genre isn’t dead; it’s expanding to a place of boundless creativity. Everyone is looking to cultivate a unique personal taste rather than follow the mainstream.

65% Of US adults agree, “The things I like are so personal to me that I can’t say I gravitate to any particular genre or style.”*

Film Goes Niche

This trend is taking over film, too. In Horror alone, one can choose from microgenres like Christmas Horror and Latin American Gothic. Movies like Poor Things, and more recently Sinners, are proving the power of genre-defying entertainment. Grand Theft Hamlet, an experimental film that blends Shakespearean drama with the chaotic energy of a video game, reimagines Hamlet set in an urban, crime-filled world, where the classic themes of revenge and betrayal are acted out in a modern, high-octane setting. This mash-up of literature and video game culture is an example of how genres and expectations are colliding, creating something that can’t be easily boxed in.

And if you think “Sad Man in Space” is niche, wait until AI starts recommending films like “Brooding Vampire Epics”, perfect for anyone looking to watch tortured souls grapple with their internal demons while staring into the abyss.

Why This Matters

For marketers, this is huge. Forget broad demographic categories. The future of marketing is about connecting with audiences on a deeply specific, emotionally driven level. Whether it’s “Polka with Synths” or “Lo-Fi Chillwave,” AI gives us the tools to create content that speaks directly to these niche microgenres, transforming how we build relationships with our audiences.

AI isn’t just about discovering content, it’s about creating and marketing it in a way that’s completely personal. If you’re not paying attention to microgenres, you’re missing out on the future of content and engagement.

*Source: Horizon Media Finger on the Pulse. Survey Fielded January 5 – January 11; n=1,002