5 Marketing Takeaways From Music Streaming

Some recent analysis from Next Big Sound is showing that streaming is more than simply getting artists' music to the public, but is also providing important social and event data, as well as information on interactions between artists and fans.

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Guest Post by Bobby Owsinski on Music 3.0If you look closely, streaming is teaching us all some marketing lessons, according to analytics service Next Big Sound (now owned by Pandora), a company that looks at social, streaming and event data as well as the interaction between an artist and a fan. While many look at it as just a way to get their music to the public, there’s actually a lot more to it than that. Here’s what the company found.1. Streaming platforms provide a path to niche audiencesWhen you’re trying to reach a specific demographic, streaming music platforms coupled with social media channels provide the most direct path. For example, according to the report, “latin artists now account for one-third of the most popular artists on YouTube. Half of the top 20 artists on Pandora are most popular with 25- to 34-year-old women.” Streaming, along with social media, allows you to specifically target the group that you’re interested in reaching.2. Underground EDM and hip-hop fans are the most engagedSome of the biggest top 40 artists may have larger followings, but that doesn’t mean they’re the most engaged. Artists like Vinny Cha$e, Marshmello, and Logic haven’t even sniffed radio or the Top 40 but have extremely strong audiences, in some cases more loyal than the superstars. 3. People still listen to older hitsBelieve it or not, in America people are is still listening to bands like Nickelback—a lot. On Pandora, legacy rock artists like Journey and the Eagles perform just as well as Katy Perry and Kanye West.4. Some musical genres resonate more with listenersIf you look to the Top 40 as a barometer for what’s popular, you’d come to a wrong conclusion as you’d probably get the idea that pop or country ruled. On Pandora, 60% of the top artists are hip-hop artists, compared to just 15% on the top 40.5. Emerging artists can be social influencers tooOnce again, it’s easy to think that Beyonce or Katy Perry rule because they seem to dominate the streaming and social networks but that’s not the case. Young electro pop artist Halsey, for instance, has a follower growth on Twitter that outranks the Top 40 artists like Iggy Azalea, Adele, Justin Timberlake, and Britney Spears.The bottom line is that we tend to think that the world revolves around music’s 1 percenters, but that’s not the case at all. Maybe in radio and on the Top 40, but not across all streaming networks, which gives hope to indie artists everywhere that are trying to improve their marketing .