Dutch pop and folk music are getting more and more popular both in the Netherlands and internationally. It was incredibly visible in the Dutch Spotify Wrapped results, where 7 of the 10 most popular songs were Dutch, more than in previous years. This trend was also reflected in the rising export value of Dutch music which reached a record high of 247 million euros in 2025 according to research commissioned by Buma Cultuur.<\/p>\n\n
The music landscape<\/strong><\/p>\n Frank Helmink, director of Buma Cultuur, leads an organization in the Netherlands that is dedicated to promoting music created by Dutch artists. Buma Cultuur aims to increase the presence of Dutch music within the national market as well as internationally. The organization achieves this mission by supporting major music events such as ADE and Eurosonic, as well as award shows like Buma Awards. Through these initiatives, they have observed a significant shift in the popularity of Dutch-language songs. A few years ago, it was considered a success if two Dutch songs reached the top 20 most popular tracks on the Buma Awards list. This year, however, 16 out of the 20 most popular songs are Dutch speaking, highlighting a remarkable change in the music landscape.<\/p>\n\n Glocalization<\/strong><\/p>\n Helmink links the growing popularity of Dutch music to a broader societal shift toward living more locally. He tells that \u201cSince the Covid-19 pandemic, people have increasingly focused on supporting local businesses\u201d. According to Helmink, this shift is also reflected in music consumption: audiences have shown a greater interest in local artists and Dutch-language songs. What began as a change during the pandemic has continued to develop and keeps on gaining momentum. The article \u2018glocalization\u2019 of Music Streaming within and across Europe by Will Page and Chris Dalla Riva discusses the influence of social media platforms on \u00a0Glocalization, a linguistic hybrid of globalization and localization. According to them Tiktok, which massively grew during the Covid-19 pandemic, serves as the “pole-position” for artist recognition, allowing local talent to be discovered both domestically and internationally.<\/p>\n The international recognition of Dutch music is only now beginning to recover from the losses caused by the pandemic. Export value includes rights and recordings, but it primarily depends on live performances abroad, a segment that was, of course, severely impacted during COVID-19.<\/p>\n