The power of streaming brings musicians, producers and labels hope in difficult times

Similarly to other industries during the Coronavirus lock-down, the music industry has not come out unscathed. From independent artists to household names, many musicians have been affected by the global consequences of the pandemic. However, since people around the world have been spending an increasing amount of time at home, we’ve seen a colossal rise in streaming, radio, and consumption of visual media.

Just last week, there were over two billion streams in the UK alone, a 7.1% increase from the week prior. Tencent Music Entertainment has publicly predicted that streaming subscriptions will continue to increase during this time, as the public continues to seek entertainment and distraction while quarantining. Another notable shift is streaming times: now that work commutes are less common, the daily surge switched from 7 AM to between 9 and 10 AM, according to streaming service Deezer.

As for radio, the increase is even more stark, since it often combines music with news, keeping its audiences informed about the pandemic. Global saw a 15% increase in their online radio streaming and BBC saw 18%, while iHeartRadio saw a 20% increase on their online and smart TV streaming, 30% increase on smart speakers, and a whopping 97% increase in their social media engagement.

But perhaps most notably, during the week of Friday, March 13^th, when global shutdowns began, video streaming grew 14.5%. According to a recent Nielson report, we can expect that to skyrocket, since “staying put in our homes can lead to almost a 60% increase in the amount of content we watch.” Online video streaming platform Twitch also saw a 31% increase in traffic. This will undoubtedly benefit musicians, as SoundCloud recently joined forces with Twitch so that their creators can monetize the use of their music. Twitch isn’t the only platform artists are using to stay connected with their fans. Hundreds of artists such as James Blake, Four Tet, Peggy Gou, Swae Lee, Igor Levit, and more have opted to stream performances and DJ sets through Instagram Live, Facebook Live, YouTube, Twitter, Periscope, while continuing to release new music.