To attract more listeners, Spotify is doubling down on the enduring popularity of anime under a new partnership with popular OTT operator Crunchyroll.

Crunchyroll is curating custom playlists with fun, genre-based themes for the music streamer to roll out on its dedicated anime hub. These include mixes such as Crunchyroll Anime Essentials, The Journey Begins and The Bubbly Pink-Haired BFF (all nods to well-known tropes in anime storytelling).

This move is a part of Spotify’s ongoing strategy to tap into the growing listener base for music featured in or inspired by the anime genre—which itself has built a robust international presence in the last few years, said Kyota Onishi, head of music in Japan, in a release. Spotify currently contains roughly 6.7 million user-generated anime playlists. 

“On Spotify, global streams of anime have surged over the past few years, and we hope the anime hub will become an indispensable part of anime culture,” said Onishi. Streams of anime music have seen a whopping 395% increase worldwide since 2021, according to data provided by Spotify. 

The Crunchyroll platform hit 15 million paid subscribers last month, and this partnership is one of its latest moves to build up its multi-platform brand presence. Meanwhile, parentco Sony is looking to mine the global anime demand by expanding the Crunchyroll Store e-commerce site into Europe.