Karachi: Spotify announced the launch of Spotify ICON Pakistan, a new music program starting in October aimed at celebrating legendary Pakistani artists. This initiative seeks to bridge the gap between iconic musicians and a new generation of listeners through curated playlists and promotional events.

According to Spotify, the program will feature artists who have influenced the Pakistani music scene from the 1950s to the 2000s, including Noor Jehan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Abida Parveen. Spotify ICON Pakistan intends to reintroduce these artists to young audiences, leveraging the platform’s wide reach among mobile-first consumers.

The program has already noted significant engagement with legacy music, with artists like Mehdi Hassan and Noor Jehan seeing substantial increases in streams and Gen-Z listeners. For instance, Mehdi Hassan’s streams have increased by 142% year-on-year, with Noor Jehan’s active listeners growing by 66%, half of whom are Gen-Z.

The data also highlights a strong connection between Gen Z and the music of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Nazia Hassan, with significant portions of their listenership coming from younger audiences. Spotify’s analysis shows that this trend is not just limited to older classics but extends to artists from the 1990s and early 2000s, like Sajjad Ali and Hadiqa Kiani, who have both seen a 75% increase in listeners within the past year.

Spotify ICON Pakistan will officially kick off with a special event this weekend at the HOUSE OF ICON, where the first featured artist under the new program will be introduced. This initiative runs alongside other successful Spotify programs like Spotify EQUAL and Spotify RADAR, further diversifying the musical offerings available to Pakistani listeners.