Study says 1 in 3 US listeners under 40 discover new music on Twitch

A new Luminate study says that a third of 13 to 40-year-old listeners in the U.S. discover new music on Twitch. While the claim deserves a critical look, it points to the huge potential for music marketing on Twitch.

The survey was conducted in Q4 of 2021 among 2,300+ US consumers in the US aged 13-40.

Here are a few red flags:

• While the survey was conducted by a trusted source – Luminate (formerly MRC) which provides all the Billboard chart data – it was funded by Twitch
• The survey admits to “a particular focus on both Twitch users and those who use Twitch specifically for music or music-related content”
• The stated objective of the study was “to quantify the value and influence of Twitch users on the music industry”

In other words, they went looking for proof that Twitch influenced music discovery and they found it.

Still… don’t discount Twitch for music

Limiting the “1 in 3 stat” to music fans on Twitch may undermine the “1 in 3 Music Listeners in the U.S. Discover New Music Through Twitch” headline, but the survey still shows the platform’s potential for music and music marketing.

After all, an average of 2.5 million people are on Twitch at any given moment 24/7/365. That’s a lot of potential new fans.

Study highlights

Music discovery on Twitch

• 1-in-3 music listeners in the U.S. discover new music through Twitch
• 54% have discovered new music from streamers actively calling out songs or artists / recommending them in the middle of a live stream
• Twitch music engagers are eager to discover new and emerging artists via Twitch (62%)

Twitch houses valuable music fans

• Twitch users spend 21% more time per week listening to music than the average music listener
• Twitch users spend 46% more of their hard earned cash on music (per month) than the average music listener
• Twitch users make over 10x more direct-to-artists payments (per month) than the average music listener

Twitch users are genre-agnostic enthusiasts

• Hip-Hop/Rap is the #1 genre for Twitch’s music fans (70%)
• Twitch users are 84% more likely to listen to EDM than the average music listener
• Twitch users are far more diverse in weekly genre listenership than the average music listener —  Heavy Metal (+61%), Classical (+51%), Jazz (+38%), K-Pop (27%)

Twitch is committed to music

Twitch is clearly continuing to lean into music as a core element despite the recent exit of its former Head of Music Tracy Chan for Soundcloud.

“Gaming and music are intrinsically linked, and much of the culture and fan behavior of our gaming community has resonated and found success with our music community,” said new Twitch Head of Music Geetha Mathews. “We are fueling the passion of this leaned-in audience by surfacing a diverse range of creators who are incredibly talented but still under the radar, driving discovery of emerging artists. We aim to help these creators break through the noise by bringing their authentic selves to a massive global user base eager to connect and contribute.”

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.