TikTok Drives Views, Not Fans — YouTube and Streaming Still Dominate Music Discovery

A caller survey by MIDiA Research concludes that the nexus betwixt societal media virality and a emergence successful streams oregon fandom is much tenuous than immoderate mightiness believe. In a planetary survey of euphony find habits involving 10,000 participants crossed assorted platforms, MIDiA’s latest study — released Tuesday (Sept. 16) — recovered that “social media is conscionable 1 portion of a wide and divers find ecosystem” and that the scenery of euphony find connected societal platforms is fragmented. Discovery is not each coming from TikTok.

In fact, the survey recovered that YouTube was the starring root for uncovering caller music, with 52% of participants crossed a wide scope of ages choosing the platform. Streaming services followed, with 40% of participants utilizing them arsenic their main root of euphony discovery. TikTok trailed astatine 37%. However, erstwhile breached retired by property group, MIDiA recovered “clear demographic divides astatine the extremes, with younger audiences skewing towards TikTok and older audiences towards radio.”

MIDiA’s study notes that lone 12% of each consumers acceptable the class of being 16–24-year-olds who accidental they chiefly observe euphony connected TikTok, and that the euphony industry’s near-singular absorption connected TikTok selling is “neglect[ing the other] 88% of the population.” However, it should beryllium noted that 16–24-year-olds are often the astir engaged and sought-after property radical of fans — and the ones astir apt to thrust taste trends.

The study goes connected to explicate that getting the 16–24 property radical to instrumentality enactment aft proceeding a opus connected societal media is often much challenging than for older groups. “Simply being exposed to euphony connected societal media matters small if consumers bash not watercourse the euphony they perceive or, amended yet, observe the artists down it,” the study notes. “After proceeding euphony connected societal media, consumers aged 16–24 are little apt than 25–34-year-olds to instrumentality astir each step.”

Here is simply a breakdown of what MIDiA calls “The Discovery Funnel,” moving from the apical (easier adjacent steps) to the bottommost (more intensive adjacent steps). It measures what actions consumers took aft proceeding euphony connected societal media successful the past month, by property group:

See who the opus is by:

Save connected social:

Save connected streaming:

Stream song, but not artist

Stream opus and much of artist:

Become a fan:

Become a superfan:

MIDiA further points retired that “song-to-artist find is simply a anemic link,” noting that “almost fractional of consumers (48%) did not watercourse euphony they heard connected societal media successful the past period and less than a 3rd became fans.”

Another situation for those pushing euphony connected TikTok successful hopes of off-platform success: the study finds that lone 33% of consumers person ever utilized its astir fashionable features, specified arsenic “Add to euphony app.” Participants successful the 16–24 property bracket are little apt than 25–34-year-olds to person utilized immoderate of TikTok’s euphony features (e.g., adhd to euphony app, share, presave, TikTok Shop for merch, in-app creator experiences, instrumentality spotlight and more). Specifically for “Add to euphony app,” which is the cardinal nexus betwixt TikTok opus find and off-platform listening, lone 30% of 16–24-year-olds had utilized it, compared to 38% of 25–34-year-olds.

“When TikTok users observe artists, they are much funny successful pursuing their contented than successful listening to their euphony connected streaming platforms. TikTok is driving much TikTok depletion alternatively than streaming consumption,” the study notes, adding that adjacent to three-quarters of users who travel artists connected TikTok bash not expl...