Strategist’s Take: How Our Music Taste Will Shape 2024
U.S. music consumption surged 12.6% in 2023, hitting 1.1 billion units in the most significant one-year gain since 2019. On-demand streaming, both audio and video, grew by 14.6%, amassing an impressive 1.5 trillion streams. On-demand audio streams, especially from platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, rose by 12.7%, totaling 1.2 trillion.
Beyond the numbers, Luminate’s 2023 year-end report unveils a lot more about how music fits into our lives — and what we seek, how we discover, and what we’re opening up to in the year ahead.
Embracing Nostalgia: ‘New to Me’ is as good as ‘New’
Remember the fever that exploded out of Stranger Things’ revival of “Running Up That Hill”? Well, turns out we all liked that feeling of finding something new, that was also old. 72.6% of album consumption in 2023 came from older releases, with total catalog album consumption growing by 13.2%.
This actively challenges the age-old marketing mantra that the ‘next big thing’ should dictate every decision. Instead, there’s an opportunity for marketers to leverage nostalgia as younger audiences explore genres of music that are both older… but new to them.
Globally Relevant: World Music is Here to Stay
With a remarkable 26.2% gain in on-demand audio streams, World Music, encompassing everything from J-pop to Afrobeats, takes the lead. Latin music closely follows with a 24.1% growth, with Country securing the third spot with a 23.7% increase. Notably, Latin music sees a 21.9% year-over-year growth, claiming a 6.86% share of the overall industry.
Let’s start at the top. Just a few weeks ago, Burna Boy made history as the first Afrobeats act to perform during the Grammys. Before that, his album ‘I Told Them…’ demolished Apple Music records by achieving the highest first-week streams globally for an African album last August. It dominated Apple Music charts in 69 countries, with 10 tracks breaking into the daily top 100 globally. World music now operates on its terms.
Coachella 2024 will witness a takeover by Latin artists. Peso Pluma, who surprised audiences during Becky G’s set in 2023, returns to headline both weekends. Joining him are Puerto Rican rising star Young Miko and Argentine hitmaker Bizarrap, making his U.S. festival debut. Mexican artists Santa Fe Klan, Kevin Kaarl (my personal favorite), and Carin León also mark their Coachella debut. Meanwhile, J Balvin also looks to a return to his glory in 2019.
Overall, we’re here for it. We can see the more ubiquitous use of world music in marketing, and more importantly, brands need to recognize these artists have transcended their geographic constraints, emerging as powerful figures for partnerships.
Country Resurgence: Not Your Father’s Country
Beyonce’s ‘TEXAS HOLD ‘EM’ release should (unless you’re a certain Oklahoma Radio Station) get you extremely excited about Country music’s role in 2024.
The genre amassed a staggering 20 billion on-demand U.S. audio streams in 2023 — a 23.7% year-to-year surge. Billboard reports an impressive 2.49% overall U.S. album consumption unit market share combined JUST for Morgan Wallen and Taylor Swift.
According to Apple Music’s Jay Liepis, country music saw a “growth in streams nearly three times the rate of growth of hip-hop, and also faster growth for Pop, R&B, Alternative and other major genres” from 2020–2022”.
It’s hard to pin down why country music is growing, especially amongst Gen Z.
That being said, a report by Relative Insight found some revealing insights about the generational shift.
Gen X’s conversations about country music tend to skew towards country stereotypes — this group is 1.4 times more likely to reference ‘politics,’ ‘rallies’ (12.3 times more), and ‘Donald Trump’ (5.4 times more) when discussing country artists and songs. I guess, they picture the controversial “Try That in a Small Town” by Jason Aldean.
The more open-minded Gen Z is just…drawn to the ‘vibes.’ They frequently use phrases like ‘I don’t know’, but are remarkably ‘obsessed’ when discussing the genre. In essence, they can’t put their finger on what it is, but Gen Z’s appreciation for country songs seems rooted in the enjoyment of the music itself rather than specific characteristics or socio-political meaning.
Wrapping Up
In the year ahead, our listening habits will continue to evolve and blend. The ubiquity of music once celebrated only regionally is another reminder to brands to do their homework, and make bets on partners who the whole world is starting to catch on to, but potentially… are omitted from their team’s GMI-blessed audience segment.
