Music streaming (e.g., Spotify) and video streaming (e.g., Netflix) may feel similar, but they’re worlds apart.
A film or television series is typically viewed once. Once you know the end of the story, there’s little need to watch it again.
A song, on the other hand, especially one that catches our ear, is listened to over and over. And the best songs, they stick around for decades.
2 out of every 3 streams is of a song older than 18 months old.
16 of the 30 best selling albums in the UK for 2021 are classics. I’m talking Queen, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, and ABBA.
What does this mean for new artists?
It means that when their song is released—one of 62,000 uploaded to Spotify that day—it’s not only competing against the latest music released, but against all music released in the last 70 years.
That’s why it’s so hard for new artists to break through.
I find this really interesting. Until now, I saw all streaming as the same, but their differences hold significant consequences for budding artists.
If you’re interested to read more, I pulled most of the data for this post from the BBC’s interview with producer, Ryan Tedder.