News of the death of the CD has been very much exaggerated according to Chris Carey, CEO of Media Insight Consulting.
Carey works with Spotify, Sony Music and The O2 Arena. In his latest research published as ‘VMDO Music Consumer Insights’, Carey found that consumers perform the album format over individual tracks as consumers find the body of work more compelling over an individual song.
Carey unveiled his findings at the CHANGES music conference in Melbourne today.
In summary he found:
Album listening isn’t dead and CDs are still in demand – the album format is still very popular (even for younger people and also amongst the mix of digital streaming playlists and single tracks available). This is encouraging for artists who want to deliver a body of work (not just tracks) and the demand highlights the opportunity for musicians to sell CDs and whole albums directly to consumers via their own digital channels or at their live performances.
YouTube is the biggest music streaming service in Australia – it performs strongly (21%) ahead of other specialist streaming services (11%). Whilst Spotify is the biggest revenue earner, and a hugely important partner for musicians, music businesses need to capitilise on the opportunities that YouTube offers for engaging with music consumers. The deeper engagement offered through video is one avenue that will convert listeners into fans. However, YouTube pays songwriters and artists less per stream than the specialist audio services like: Spotify, Soundcloud and Deezer.
Live music has a mass appeal and Australian music matters most – over 60% of Australians attend a live music event at least once a year. Victorians are the highest of any state with a strong appetite for local music – in Victoria 55% preferred to see Australian music artists live than other international talent (compared to 49% nationally). When asked why they don’t go to see more live music, many people identified that they do not want to go alone.
Music discovery is driven through traditional media and streaming – it’s accessed free via radio, television and film, which are ranked in the top ways to find new music, alongside playlists and YouTube. After discovering music, the most popular way to explore further is to stream on YouTube (26%) or paid streaming (17%) through Spotify or Apple Music. There is an opportunity to shift people from music engagers to music fans and importantly to bring listeners into the paid ecosystem for the first time.
Radio still really matters for listening, gigs and discovery – it’s the biggest way of listening to music (48%), followed closely by CDs (44%) and free video streaming (44%). When asked how they find out about live gigs, radio is ranked highest with 44% of people discovering live music that way compared to YouTube (22% – ranked as second highest). The role of community radio is a major contributor that drives people to the discovery of emerging local music and supporting a thriving local scene (particularly in Victoria through Tripe R and PBS).
The study surveyed 2,025 Australians through an online survey based on 30 questions. “The survey findings help us explain the attitudes that underpin consumer behaviours – they join the dots so we can understand how Australians connect with music through different access points from streaming services to purchasing tickets to a live performances,” said Carey.
The findings are now being examined by the Victorian Music Development Office.
You’ll discover music news first following Noise11 on Twitter
Comment on the news of the day, join Noise11 on Facebook
Listen to the Noise11 Music News channel now at iHeartRadio
