Spotify Survey: Millennials and Gen Z Listening to the Most Music on Spotify
Millennials and Gen Z listen to the most music on Spotify
The first half of 2020 was a whirlwind of activity, with cultural trends becoming clearer and accelerating. The most prominent of these trends is Millennials and Gen Z listening to the most music on Spotify. Spotify has analyzed this data to better understand the trends affecting these generations.
According to Spotify’s research, 34% of Gen Z listeners first discovered music through social media. They primarily rely on recommendations from friends and streaming services. But Gen Z listeners also go straight to artist social media accounts to discover new music. They place more value on the experiences of their peers than algorithms.
In addition to listening habits, Spotify’s research team is also analyzing the emotional connection between music and mental health. The new insights help the company develop products that make the user experience even better. For example, a new feature allows users to learn more about one another through their listening preferences. This feature allows Spotify to provide better recommendations and enrich the user experience.
The Millennials and Gen Z generation are the main driving force behind the use of streaming services on smartphones. While Millennials are the primary listeners of music on Spotify, Gen Z also heavily uses the service on their computers and downloaded collections. The use of smart speakers has also made a notable impact. Specifically, 13% of millennials and 16% of Gen Z listen to music on smart speakers daily.
The study by Spotify also reveals that Gen Zs are increasingly interested in purpose over political affiliation. According to Spotify’s fourth annual Culture Next Trends Report, 18-24 year-olds will listen to 578 billion minutes of music on Spotify by 2021. That’s 16 billion minutes more than Millennials.
Gen Z listeners are the most likely to subscribe to a podcast service
Podcasts are a popular form of audio entertainment that appeals to a broad spectrum of listeners. Across generations, Gen Z is the biggest audience, and nearly three-quarters have subscribed to a podcast service. Gen Z is also the most likely to subscribe to a streaming audio service. Gen Z listeners tend to listen to longer episodes, and 60% of them say that they typically listen to a podcast for at least 26 minutes.
Despite the challenges of reaching these listeners, podcasts are proving to be a valuable tool for marketers. According to a survey by Morning Consult, 32 percent of Gen Z listen to podcasts at least once a week. And 49 percent of U.S. adults listen to podcasts at least a few times a year. Although Gen Z listeners may be relatively small in number, the podcast ecosystem is rapidly expanding and putting many of today’s most popular social media stars behind the mic.
Gen Z listeners are also among the fastest-growing segments of podcast subscribers. While the older generation had traditionally listened to talk radio formats, younger listeners are now taking up the spoken word format with gusto. According to Spotify, the average podcast listenership among Gen Zs in the U.S. grew by 62% between Q1 2022 and Q1 2021. The company reported that 22% of 15 to 17-year-olds subscribe to podcasts weekly, while 41% of 18 to 24-year-olds subscribe to a podcast service.
Despite the popularity of podcasts, Generation Z is also a very social demographic, and is less likely to listen to traditional media. In fact, they are the least likely to listen to traditional media and are more likely to get their news from social networks. They spend more time on Facebook and Twitter, and most of their news consumption occurs through IGTV, which is a relatively new feature. IGTV allows users to create videos that can last up to an hour. This represents a huge opportunity for marketers to cater to Gen Z audiences.
Employers offer perks to their employees
Employers often offer perks to their employees as a way to keep them happy and engaged. The new Spotify for Work program allows companies to offer their employees paid subscriptions to the popular audio streaming service. The program is a direct competitor to other employee perks like on-site acupuncture and Summer Fridays. However, many companies are already offering these types of perks. For example, Go Fish Digital gives its employees a free Kindle e-reader and one e-book per quarter. These perks are part of an employer’s overall work culture.
In addition to offering perks to employees, Spotify is also helping companies increase their premium account numbers. The global professional services firm Accenture recently announced it will offer a free Spotify Premium account to its employees. While this program is limited to Accenture for the time being, the company is teasing future collaborations with other companies.
Some perks include food and on-site services. Others are designed to help employees live a better lifestyle. These can include gym memberships, student loan repayment, pet insurance, and day care subsidies. Additionally, some employers offer tuition reimbursement for online courses. However, the number of these perks varies between companies, so it is up to the company to decide which ones to offer.
In order to effectively implement employee perks, employers must develop a plan to communicate them. If employees are unaware of the benefits, they are unlikely to use them. This is why it is important for employers to send periodic emails explaining their benefits and ask employees to share their experiences.
Spotify is exploring NFT opportunities
Spotify is testing NFTs in partnership with third-party platforms to create a more personalized experience for fans. It will not collect a commission from NFT sales. Instead, it will provide users with links to third-party NFT marketplaces, where they can purchase the NFT of their choice. In the meantime, the company is collecting data on how users react to the new platform. This information will help Spotify decide whether to make NFT integration a permanent part of the platform.
In addition to providing a seamless customer experience, Spotify is also considering allowing artists to sell their NFTs. Currently, Spotify allows artists to sell merchandise and tickets on its platform, but it wants to expand its offering with more NFTs. Some artists, like Steve Aoki, have signed up to test this feature. Users can view NFT previews on the artist profile page and then tap through to external marketplaces to purchase the NFT.
The company is currently surveying Spotify users to gather feedback on NFT integration. In addition, it is providing in-app previews of NFT art for some artist pages. While this is still in beta, it is a significant step toward the company’s goal of achieving greater user interaction with its platform.
Spotify is also looking to integrate NFTs and blockchain technology to enhance the user experience. This integration could greatly improve the experience of music fans, including the ability to buy digital digests, buy merchandise, and get backstage access. This experiment may only be limited to select artists, but the broader opportunities are enticing.
In addition to Spotify, other tech platforms are looking to adopt NFTs as a part of their service. This is a big step forward in the crypto space and could help the music industry grow their incomes by allowing music fans to pay for their music through NFTs.
