Music discovery snapshot Q3 2022 Fandom under threat

20,000 foot view:  Despite the hyper-saturated music landscape, music discovery is generally not a problem for most consumers. Gen Z and millennials have similar music discovery habits, but gen Z struggle slightly more with discovery and are more influenced by TikTok, while millennials are perhaps the last generation to see radio as a main source of music discovery. However, not all means of discovery have equal impact. Consumers are discovering music, but not always the artists behind them, and niche discovery sources are more likely to translate to time and money spent on music than mainstream ones.

Key insights 

• YouTube is            most common new music discovery            with            of all consumers citing            followed by radio            and DSPs           
• There are            differences between millennials and gen            DSPs’ and radio’s hold on            is diminishing in younger generations;            is on the rise
           of gen Zs discover music on TikTok and            stream songs that they hear on TikTok, although only            discover music through viral trends
• Only            of            strongly agree that they find            difficult to discover new music,            gen Z struggle slightly more           
• Passive listening            common —            of consumers listen            playlists as background, and            report            they often do not know            names of the artists they            listening to — but            research            artists that they discover
• Despite gen            being more active listeners, millennials            more likely to research new            they discover
• Discovery is            a moment but a journey            many steps, from discovering songs            researching an artist to spending            on live and merch
• Overall, consumers            cite niche discovery sources are            likely to research artists and            above-average time and money on            than mainstream ones
           of consumers who share songs with others research new artists that they discover, but gen Zs are starting to share less than millennials
• There is            strong need to guide consumers            discovering artists, not just songs,            for younger generations

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Euphoria, Rolling Stone, Rosalía, Sex Education, Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, YouTube Music, YouTube Shorts