Genre Detection is SongScore's automatic classification of a track's genre hierarchy from its audio signal — without relying on metadata, tags, or artist-provided information. It identifies the primary genre, relevant subgenres, and free-form genre tags that describe the track's acoustic and cultural positioning.
Primary genre classification covers 40+ genres including: Pop, Rock, Electronic/Dance, Hip-Hop, R&B/Soul, Country, Jazz, Classical, Indie, Metal, Folk, Reggae, Latin, Afrobeats, K-Pop, Ambient, Blues, Gospel, Funk, and more.
Subgenre detection provides more specific positioning within a primary genre (e.g. Pop → Bedroom Pop → Lo-Fi Pop). Free genre tags capture stylistic descriptors that cross traditional genre boundaries (e.g. "cinematic", "ethereal", "groove-driven").
Genre detection accuracy is critical for two SongScore functions: Playlist Match quality (playlists are genre-filtered in matching) and AI A&R Report quality (genre context informs all pitching and strategy recommendations). SongScore uses audio-derived genre detection rather than metadata-based classification, which means it detects the actual genre of the audio rather than the genre the artist thinks it belongs to.