Spotify’s Fresh Finds Celebrates a Decade of Discovering Breakout Talent

Afusic emerges as a success story of the Fresh Finds program in Pakistan

Karachi, June 04, 2025 – Spotify has announced a major milestone for 2025 – 10 years of Fresh Finds, the initiative designed to help independent artists get discovered at the earliest stages of their careers. Since its launch in 2015, Fresh Finds has supported nearly 70,000 artists, becoming a global pipeline for new talent and a key discovery engine across genres.

In 2024, over 18,000 artists from 127 countries were featured on Fresh Finds playlists and more than 65 million artist discoveries were driven by Fresh Finds last year alone. The Fresh Finds ecosystem includes both global and local playlists, and a wide range of genre-based collections. Curated by over 30 Spotify editors worldwide, these playlists are built using data, artist submissions, research, and editorial instinct. On average, artists see their new listeners and international streams more than double in the month after being added to Fresh Finds ecosystem.

Launched in late 2021, Fresh Finds Pakistan playlist features upcoming artists from the country. Spotify revealed that the top breakout artists featured on the Pakistan Fresh Finds Playlist in the last three years include, AUR, Afusic, Ali Soomro, Ali Raza, Ali & Shjr and Zeeshan Ali, all of whom have captured mainly young audiences with their distinct voices and innovative sounds.

With nearly 80% of its listeners under the age of 35 and over 40% under 24, the Fresh Finds Pakistan playlist clearly strikes a chord with young listeners, highlighting its strong appeal among Gen-Z and young millennial fans. Listenership from Gen Z has grown by 172% year over year, proving their hunger for fresh sounds and boundary-pushing talent.

“One of the latest exciting stories of Fresh Finds from Pakistan is Afusic. When we featured him on the playlist cover of Fresh Finds just two months ago, it was clear that his music had something special. To date, over half the artists first featured on Fresh Finds are later added to other Spotify editorial playlists – just like Afusic, whose songs now appear on Hot Hits Pakistan, Paka Hit Hai, and Desi Hits. His track Pal Pal with Ali Soomro has resonated with listeners around the world, climbing to the number one spot in several countries”, said Rutaba Yaqub, Artist & Label Partnerships Manager at Spotify for Pakistan and UAE.

Hip-hop has seen a significant rise in popularity among Pakistan’s youth, with rap and hip-hop streams in Fresh Finds Pakistan increasing by 55% and 50% respectively over the past three years. Desi hip-hop also experienced strong growth, with a 41% increase in streams. The playlist’s global traction continues to grow, with top streaming countries including the US, Singapore, Australia, France, and Denmark — highlighting the international appeal of these emerging Pakistani artists.

At a time when discovery and audience-building are more fragmented and competitive than ever, the Fresh Finds program continues to prove the power of curated editorial support in elevating emerging artists. To celebrate a decade of impact, Spotify has launched a special 10-year anniversary playlist, available here. For more insights and details, visit the Spotify Newsroom here.