Music has always played an important role for all of us.
It could be the first sound in the morning, the alarm clock, or a special travel partner, or a close friend in relaxing moments. Music is most of the times a precious resource for balancing human states of mind and souls.
Depending on the mood, we look for music that can recharge us or encourage us to share feelings. Music is not just a universal common good, but it is a need that never makes us feel alone.
The coronavirus lockdown has forced us to adjust to a new reality and a new routine. For someone, these months have been a chance to regain time and rediscover slow rhythms, far away from the ones of everyday life.
We put aside all those commitments that stop us from taking care of ourselves and we gave back value to those things that we took for granted. Among these things there is certainly enjoying good music and video contents or listening to radio and podcasts.
Music streaming
We may have expected to see an uptake in the use of streaming music services, as people become confined in their homes, but that’s not the case, with indicators showing the contrary. Streaming consumption in countries in lockdown appeared to have dropped between 15% to 20%. This is linked to consumers adjusting to new confinement rules, which have removed key music listening situations like the daily commute, as well as office and gym time.
In March, when the pandemic began to significantly impact the United States, streaming declined for three consecutive weeks in a row. First by 2%, then by 8.8%, followed by 3.2%. Such a decrease is rarely seen. The closest comparison is an annual dip by no more than 1%, the week following the Christmas holidays.
However, the week ending April 2nd saw a 2% increase in streaming within the United States and we continued to see an incline. According to Spotify’s Q1 2020 report, overall daily active users and consumption have remained in line with their forecasts, although, Italy and Spain, markets hardest hit by the pandemic, saw notable declines. Spotify continued to retain the global number one position reaching 130 million paid subscriptions in the first three months of 2020, though Apple captured the top spot in the USA. Amazon Music also experienced strong growth with its multiple streaming plans catering to a wide audience, although its subscriptions are closely linked to Echo smart speaker geographies, which skew heavily towards the USA and UK.
Live Streaming
From mid-to-late March, there was a reported 70% increase in Instagram Live video streaming in the United Stated, compared to February. Alongside Instagram Live, YouTube Live is another platform that has amplified artist’s efforts to connecting instantaneously with fans. Dua Lipa complemented the release of her new album, Future Nostalgia, by playing and commenting on each song live on YouTube Live
Podcasts and Radio
Voxnest says that in March 2020 the average podcast audience on Spreaker has increased by 50%.
In addition, in the middle of April (in broad lockdown), the new podcasts grew by over 700% in “spare time” category.
In the same way, online radio has seen an increase in consumption, as listeners seek human curation, live news, friendly voices and companionship.
“PandeMusic” by Sonus faber
We created a playlist for you that includes some popular music genres we listened to during the lockdown. If you want to enjoy it, visit our official Spotify and Tidal channel!
