Spotify Streams Spike During Year End

Over 5 million minutes of holiday content streamed between October to December.

In preparation for the Year End and Christmas celebrations, Spotify for Brands released key streaming trends to help marketers connect with their target audience during the holiday period.

Listening Habits in Malaysia During the Year End Period

From October 1 – December 31, 2017, we found the following key streaming trends on Spotify:

• Based on Spotify’s internal data, users in Malaysia stream over 1.7 million holiday content (including podcasts, music, comedies and audiobooks).
• Malaysians stream over 5 million minutes of holiday content during this period of the year.
• Spotify users stream more during the weekdays; Monday and Thursday being the two most streamed days of the week.

Understanding People Through Music (And More). Understanding People Through Music is a research initiative that has become a key part of Spotify’s data mission. By analyzing how millions of users worldwide stream on the music platform, Spotify is able to understand how their listening habits relate to what they’re like offline; from their personality traits to lifestyle choices.

Today, the marketplace has become cluttered with various brand messages. To stand out, marketers need to not just deliver a one-size fits all message to their target audience; they must truly understand them and their motivations. Once marketers intimately understand a consumer, they can reach their audiences in the right context, with the right (relevant and personalised) message.

This is especially true when brands are hoping to reach out to millennials. Millennials intentionally use music streaming to escape daily pressures or to enhance moments they enjoy. Their relationship to audio streaming contrasts to social media, which 48% of millennials worry brings them negative effects — and the news, which 3 in 5 millennials say they need to take breaks from reading or watching. The ubiquity of audio streaming has also shaped the relationship millennials have with their music. Genre still matters, but it no longer defines them. Instead, it is viewed as a shortcut to selecting music to enhance and improve every mood and occasion. For marketers, this is a chance to reach millennials through a medium they trust and see as a positive enhancer or tool.

“Spotify is at the center of our users’ lives. During big cultural phenomena or in small personal moments, our fans soundtrack their lives on Spotify. The personal and emotional connection people have to music tells us more about our audience and fuels our streaming intelligence—rich first-party data that provides psychographic insights beyond demographics to reveal our audience’s moods, mindsets, tastes and behaviors.” says Joanna Wong, Head of Business Marketing, Southeast Asia, Spotify.

Our Streaming Intelligence Offers Opportunities For Marketers. These moments which matter to consumers should matter to brands too, as they present a remarkable opportunity for brands to connect with consumers on a deeper level. Unlike demographics or device IDs, which are often used to approximate a target audience, moments reveal profound insights about consumers, giving brands the possibility to truly achieve perceptive advertising.

People consume digital content differently, and festive content definitely holds its own weight. With the holiday listening pattern on Spotify uncovered, there will be plenty of opportunities for brands to engage on a deeper, more personal level with consumers. By understanding what and when users are listening, brands will  be able to connect with them with the right holiday message.