Where Fans Discover New Music In 2018

As the music industry has changed, so too has the way in which consumers find new music, but music discovery remains one of the most important aspects of the music industry, and is the holy grail for artists and promoters. Here we look at prevailing music discovery trends of 2018.

_______________________

Guest post by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0

Music discovery is the holy grail of the music business, as it develops a new fan base for artists and bands with the exposure. At one point in time, most discovery came mostly from radio, with a little bit of print advertising aimed at both consumers and retailers thrown in. In today’s digital age, radio still plays a part, but that’s decreasing in importance as most consumers, especially those interested in new music, move online.

Here’s an interesting infographic from the music promotion company Burstimo that culls data from both Google Trends and the IFPI Music Consumer Insight Report that provides a look at where the fans consume their music. I must admit that I question some of the results here (especially the one about 85% of YouTube users using the platform for music consumption), but if nothing else, it shows that YouTube is still a big player in music distribution and that more and more people are willing to pay to access music.