Despite having a global pandemic to contend with, the era of Peak TV showed few signs of slowing down in 2021. In fact, even as live entertainment venues reopened after a year of continuous disruptions, TV consumption increased. Reported time spent watching TV shows and movies in the United States during the first half of 2021 rose 4% compared to the same period the year prior.
Tunefind, the most comprehensive search platform for music placed in film and TV online, recently released a series of reports that reinforced this trend. Using data from the hundreds of TV shows that aired new episodes last year (plus thousands of episodes from years prior), the company compiled lists of the Top TV Songs, Top Sync Artists and Composers, Top New TV Shows Driving Music Discovery, and more to give a broad overview of the industry’s health heading into the new year.
The findings highlight the many benefits sync placements have for musicians while proving that TV remains a significant source of music discovery for a diverse group of fans. South Korean survival drama Squid Game, American drama series The Chi, and British comedy-drama Sex Education – featuring an outstanding soundtrack composed by Ezra Furman – all featured on Tunefind’s lists.
New media platforms also offered musicians something to cheer about. In September, TikTok announced that it had reached 1 billion active global users for the first time, with 67% of those users saying they were likely to seek out a song they heard on TikTok on a music streaming platform. Shazam, the music identification app, also crossed a significant milestone in 2021 by conducting 1 billion song matches per month for the first time. The number of monthly active YouTube users also surpassed 2 billion in 2021. People now consume one billion hours of YouTube content daily.
Artists on Songtradr benefited too. One was Tropical artist and Dominican native El Swing de Nicky Catarey, who had his music licensed for a pivotal scene in Fox sitcom Call Me Kat. Towards the end of the 12th episode, you can watch the show's central character – played by The Big Bang Theory lead and Jeopardy! host Mayim Bialik – demonstrate her salsa dance moves to Catarey's song “Chipa y Fuego.” Songtradr also issued sync licenses for music used in Marvel, Netflix, CBS, Showtime, and HBO shows such as Hawkeye, Shameless, Diary of a Future President, Seal Team, and Tommy.
Tunefind’s verified music listings come from music supervisors on these and many other shows, and from members of the public who are passionate about music and TV. After a user submits a song, the Tunefind community votes on the accuracy of the song submissions to build the most extensive database of music used in film and TV. The company can then identify trends and report on the influence of music in a specific show.
You can learn more about the shows and artists whose music made the biggest impact by exploring Tunefind’s Top TV Shows of 2021 Driving Music Discovery list below. Tunefind's full 2021 film and television round-up can be found here.
Top TV Shows of 2021 Driving Music Discovery
20. Elite
Music Supervisor: Paulina Marquez
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Hacia el Fondo by RUBIO
19. The Handmaid’s Tale
Music Supervisor: Maggie Phillips
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Fix You by Fearless Soul
18. The Chi
Music Supervisor: Derryck Big Tank Thornton
Fan Favorite Music Moment: She Got It by Jai'Len Josey
17. Riverdale
Music Supervisor: Brittany Whyte
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Will You Follow Me Into the Dark by Klergy, Mindy Jones
16. The Walking Dead
Music Supervisors: Season Kent, Gabe Hilfer, Henry van Roden
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Heaven I Know by Gordi
15. American Horror Story
Music Supervisor: Amanda Krieg Thomas
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Teardrop by Massive Attack
14. Atypical
Music Supervisors: Laura Webb, Lindsay Wolfington
Fan Favorite Music Moment: A List by HVOB
13. This Is Us
Music Supervisors: Manish Raval, Tom Wolfe
Fan Favorite Music Moment: breathe again by Joy Oladokun
12. Good Girls
Music Supervisors: Jonathan Leahy, Alison Rosenfeld Moses
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Heartbreak Television by Weval
11. All American
Music Supervisor: Madonna Wade-Reed
Fan Favorite Music Moment: How To Lose A Friend by Wafia
10. The Good Doctor
Music Supervisor: Ann Kline
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Falls (Reprise) (feat. Sasha Alex Sloan) by ODESZA, Sasha Alex Sloan
9. Virgin River
Music Supervisor: Lindsay Wolfington
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Running Low by syml
8. Bridgerton
Music Supervisor: Alexandra Patsavas
Fan Favorite Music Moment: In My Blood by Vitamin String Quartet
7. Yellowstone
Music Supervisor: Andrea von Foerster
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Sleeping on the Blacktop by Colter Wall
6. Sex Education
Music Supervisor: Matt Biffa
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Your Young Voice by Jonny Muir
5. Ted Lasso
Music Supervisors: Tony Von Pervieux, Christa Miller
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Only by Ry X
4. Shameless
Music Supervisors: Ann Kline, Carly Van Skaik
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Semper by Last Verse
3. The Blacklist
Music Supervisor: John Bissell
Fan Favorite Music Moment: One Last Dream by Radical Face
2. Lucifer
Music Supervisor: Justin Kamps
Fan Favorite Music Moment: In the Air Tonight by Jon Howard
1. Grey’s Anatomy
Music Supervisor: Kasey Truman
Fan Favorite Music Moment: Hymn by Bjéar
Want To Hear Your Music On Television?
Nick Fulton
Before joining Songtradr, Nick spent more than a decade writing reviews, essays, criticism, and interviewing artists for i-D, Billboard, Pitchfork, and other global publications. He's spoken to hundreds of emerging and established artists, including Lenny Kravitz, Michael Stipe, Khruangbin, St. Vincent, Incubus, and Eartheater.