Popular music is making increasingly more explicit references to the word ‘sex’, reports IANS referring to a new study.

The study conducted by the US-based content marketing agency Fractl found that since 1960, mention of the word ‘sex’ in top-charting songs has skyrocketed from near zero to a little over 1,500 in 2009, according to mic.com.

On the other hand explicit mention of ‘love’ have been on the decline, the study found.

Fractl tabulated their results by analysing the lyrics of every song that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1960 to 2014, counting the mention of the words ‘love’ and ‘sex’.

The research doesn’t make claims about the total content of romantic versus sexual love in popular music.

They searched for only the most basic words ‘sex’ and ‘love’ and words that contain them, like ‘sexy’ and ‘beloved’—words whose meanings are hard to miss.

Most of the artists making the most sexually explicit music today are largely operating in R&B - a music genre that combines elements of rhythm and blues, soul, funk, pop, hip hop and dance - and are some of the biggest hit-makers in the business like Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj and the Black Eyed Peas.

The researchers said that the increase in ‘sex’ music today could be attributed to the increased consumption of ‘media via smartphones and MP3 players, and increasing depictions of overt sexuality’.