According to the MIDia Research, playlists are re-defining listening.
Playlists are the fuel driving both music discovery and consumption and they can help songs become hit singles.
Labels still build marketing campaigns around album release dates, but they should realize that, even though there will always be ‘a market’ for albums, the album is no longer ‘the market’.
According to the research, 31% of music consumers listen to playlists; only 29% listen to albums. Among music subscribers, the rate is 68% for playlists.
In the music streaming business, what matters is how much labels and artists earn per streaming user. As an example, the average royalty income per album per streaming user is $0.21, with $0.03 going to the artist and $0.02 going to the songwriter.
Albums can no longer be considered the main way most people listen to music. Having said that, artists and labels should make the most out of the new realities of music consumption.
Read our recent blog post to learn how to create Spotify playlists.