US millennial snapshot A looming generational blind spot

20,000 foot view:  In the US,            are the music industry’s most valuable segment. Yet their relationship with streaming is tenuous. Streaming is not meeting these consumers’ need for a more social, less algorithm-driven experience. What is more, they appear most likely to give their subscriptions up. Their behaviour contrasts with that of            who spend nearly twice as much time streaming, but are less likely to listen to playlists and full albums, and also slightly less likely to want a more social streaming experience. These insights give record labels perspective on what audiences are being attracted by each streaming service. Streaming services can either repair their relationship with            focus on building for the next generation, or attempt at both.

Key insights 

           are the largest US consumer base by age, and also contain the largest share of music aficionados
• TIDAL is            most dependent on            who make                       of its userbase, followed by            Music, with           
• Spotify is            Gen Z audiences, as            of            weekly active user (WAU) base                       but lags with            who make                      
           spend a weekly average of            hours streaming music, the lowest of any age segment under            and a stark contrast with                       hours weekly            of            would give up music rather than TV and film, and            are considering cancelling standalone entertainment subscriptions in favour of bundles            are more than twice as likely to stream stations and radio monthly            as                      
• Most            would            a less algorithm-driven, more social            experience, and            struggle to navigate            vast volume of music on           
• Streaming services            court            by meeting their needs            human curation and connection
• Streaming services            build for the next generation            listeners by focusing on giving            control over their experience and            cultural moments on-platform
• Apple Music            well-positioned to build for            and            for            while a TikTok streaming            could serve both

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Amazon Fire, Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime Music, Apple Music, Apple Music            Apple One, Apple TV+, Beats One, Beyonce, ByteDance, Deezer, Jay-Z, SoundCloud, Spotify, TIDAL, TikTok, Verizon, YouTube, YouTube Music

Methodology statement:   For the purposes of this report, the term ‘millennials’ is used primarily to focus on our            age bracket, with a particular view through the lens of ‘young millennials’, as the            age bracket ecompasses the ‘older millennial’ segment and some of Gen X.  Likewise, Gen Z is represented by our            age bracket, which is also split into younger            and older (20-24-years-old) brackets. We are also mindful that these age brackets do not map perfectly to typical generational age markers, but the age bands are consistent with previous MIDiA reports.