Similarity Analysis of Modern Genre Music Based on Billboard Hits

Mainstream music can be popularly categorized into specific genres: Rock, Country, Hip Hop, contemporary rhythm and blues (R&B) and Pop. Music of these genres are continually complied on the Billboard music charts based on popularity. This paper explores the uniqueness of these genres and the possible melding of acoustic characteristics over time. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) are applied to timbral and non-timbral characteristics and compared for each genre. Results show that Hip Hop and Pop maintained a unique distinction over time compared to the other genres while Rock, Country and R&B began to share similar acoustic characteristics within recent times. Further analysis make an attempt to predict the trend of the acoustic nature of genres.