Popularity of tracks with explicit lyrics has declined by 61% since 2018, report finds

The number of tracks with explicit lyrics featured in Spotify's Top 50 has reduced by 61% since 2018, a new report has found.

According to research from music journalist Daniel Parris, which was shared via his Substack Stat Significant last week (June 29), music carrying a parental advisory tag made up just 13% of Spotify's Top 50 in January 2026, down from 74% in 2018.

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Parris attributes the change to both the increase in popularity of "classic songs", with the Spotify Top 50 more regularly featuring non-contemporary music such as The Killers' 'Mr Brightside', Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin'' and The Goo Goo Dolls' 'Iris', which all currently hold positions in the chart.

The change is also attributed to the decline in hip hop, which is traditionally the genre carrying the most parental advisory warnings. The genre has seen a similar decline in listens, no longer occupying a significant proportion of streams.

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In what he dubs the "cleanification" of music, Parris suggests that rather than being a reflection of more 'family-friendly' music tastes, this trend could be a natural levelling-out from the explosion of explicit music following the launch of the US government's Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) campaign in 1985.

The campaign was spearheaded by Tipper Gore, the wife of Senator Al Gore, to "protect children from violent, drug-related, or sexual themes" in music. It's generally regarded by modern critics to have backfired, with the "forbidden fruit effect" leading to increased popularity in explicit music with young people.

[Via: Stat Significant]

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, get in touch with her here.