Report: Close ties between social media users and music consumers lead to discovering new acts

Social media has been instrumental in the resurgence of the global music industry, the growing strength of the independent sector, a heightened control over their work by musicians and the greater bargaining power of consumers.

Now a new study from MusicWatch underlines the contribution of music to engagement on social media platforms.

In fact, 9 out of 10 regular social media users partake in some music- or artist-related activity on the most popular social applications.

MusicWatch used a snapshot made up of 800 respondents who use either Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat at least once a month, with the majority of those users engaging with social media daily.

Of these, 75% watch music videos, 69% listen to music on terrestrial radio and 35% pay for a music streaming subscription.

The audience is relatively young: 36% are between the ages of 13—24.

Musicians and artists are at the top of the most-followed influencers and celebrities, and hip hop is the prevalent music being listened to.

“In a world where fame is fleeting, musicians have influence and staying power on social media,” MusicWatch observed.

In significant use to the music industry, music plays a major role in social media conversations.

51% of Twitter users follow to get updates from music acts.

Half of those on Instagram are viewing posts from artists and bands, or viewing their updates.

Two-thirds of Snapchat users are sending or viewing photos and videos from live events including music shows, concerts or music festivals.

47% of Facebook’s daily users like a music artist or band on the platform.

One of three Instagram users aged 13-34 listens to songs that are included in posts.

Says the report, “While Snapchat may be the ideal balm for FOMO at live events, over half its users are also using music to drive engagement- subscribing to artist feeds, using lyrics for captions or including in mentions or hashtags.”

Social media also drives music discovery. 63% of users are discovering new acts on these platforms, and almost 60% head on to streaming services to check out acts after they see an update tweet or post.

On Facebook, the most valued music activity is being able to share links to music from streaming services, including playlists.

To view the full report, click here.