As people around the world have increasingly moved inside over the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen music and podcast listening change in a variety of ways.
For example, with fewer people streaming from their cars during their daily commutes and an increase in working from home, more people are streaming across devices like computer desktops, TVs, smart speakers, and gaming consoles. There’s also been an increase in cooking- and housework-themed playlists, showing that people are primarily focusing on family and domestic tasks instead of music intended for get-togethers. Self-improvement podcasts (think wellness, meditation) are seeing an uptick as well.
In Italy and Spain, residents have taken to singing songs together from apartment balconies and windows, especially in honor of health care providers and first responders. Two of the songs sung in Italy have soared: streams of “Abbracciame” increased by 820% on March 13, and streams of “Azzurro” soared more than 715% on March 14. In Spain, streams of the ’80s track “Resistiré” (I Will Resist) by Duo Dinamico leapt by more than 435% starting March 15, after videos of the event started circulating on social media.
Spotify Newsroom
There have been a number of reports form various sources about drops in music streaming in the countries most affected by coronavirus and the associated social isolation, while others have mentioned shifts towards radio listening and classical music. It was only natural for habits to change as people were forced to spend more time at home, but it’s more likely a shift away from top hits to specialized tastes, than a permanent drop. We are spending less time commuting, and more time in a shared space at home, where other members of the family may have different music tastes – or, if a couple sharing an apartment is listening together, that means a single stream instead of two, if these people were listening separately before. Hopefully we will see music streaming on a clear rising trajectory, as under the current conditions it’s one of the few revenue streams left for artists, with touring postponed for who knowns how long.
Personally I prefer to work in silence, both at the office and at home, to better focus on my tasks – which is unfortunately not always an option at work in an open space. Since starting working from home, I like to savor this opportunity to have a quiet space for myself. Outside of ‘working’ hours, I rarely listen to ‘hits’, so I’m not very representative in the context of some of the articles mentioned above. I’m also trying my best to keep up with the podcasts I’m subscribed to, I’m finding more interesting content lately that I generally listen to while cooking and doing other chores around the house.
Usage on Spotify’s car, wearable and web platforms dropped when users swapped their car commute for shelter-in-place as employers mandated that people work from home. Usage on TV and game consoles, however, is up by more than 50%. Spotify shared these insights on Wednesday as part of its earnings report for the first quarter of 2020.
It’s clear from our data that morning routines have changed significantly, Spotify said in the report.Every day now looks like the weekend.Spotify said listening time around activities such as cooking, chores, family time and relaxing at home have each been up by double digits over the past few weeks.
Kerry Flynn
As for video streaming, this activity is clearly booming in isolation, not only for movies and series, but for more recent forms of video entertainment, such as game streaming on YouTube and Twitch.
Post a Comment