How will the coronavirus impact music streaming? The industry has reason to be worried in view of the first results recorded. According tothe numbersfrom Alpha Data, in fact, the listening volume over the period from March 13 to 19 was down 7.6% in the United States.
For the first quarter in any case, certain services do more than limit damage. Spotify announced yesterday that it had reached 130 million paying subscribers.This is an increase of 31% compared to the same period in 2019. Its turnover increased by 22%, which again exceeds analysts' forecasts.
The coronavirus will have an impact on music streaming
This data is enough to worry its competitorApple Musicbecause in terms of number of paying subscribers, the Swedish platform now weighs more than double the last figure communicated by the Cupertino company: 60 million.
On closer inspection, the coronavirus pandemic nevertheless weighs on the results. Spotify thus indicates that among the people who unsubscribed,one in six cited Covid-19 among the reasons for their departure.
Moreover, the company notes a change in the songs that its users listen to. The music is much “colder”. The latter stream songs that are more instrumental and much less danceable and energetic than they normally do.
For the rest of the year, Spotify expects to stay the course but we must also expect a slowdown in advertising which is again one of the consequences of the crisis. It remains to be seen how Apple Music will evolve; the company has no longer communicated on the number of paying subscribers since June 2019. According to a recent study, the streaming service, however, remainsworld number 2in this very strategic market.
