Study Looks At How Pandemic Globally Affected Music Listening Patterns

Monitoring Music Consumption

BMAT MUSIC INNOVATORS, the BARCELONA-based music monitoring and reporting service, has released a report on how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected music consumption and usage on a global basis, "What The FAQ Is Going On With Music Right Now?"

The impact of the CORONAVIRUS and quarantine on media and music has been dramatic in some niches, such as sports broadcasting, yet barely noticeable in others. Despite expectations, speech content for some analyzed regions only ticked slightly upward -- 0.35% -- versus music on the radio, perhaps a mild reflection of the increase in urgent news coverage the pandemic has been demanding.

The study also found that radio broadcasters saw less of a shift than digital when it comes to genre, though Hip Hop lost some share, while R&B saw slight gains. The number of pre-2010 songs charting in the U.K. doubled, reaching 8.7% of all songs on the charts. SPAIN and ITALY meanwhile, showed signs of increased nostalgia.

BMAT Communications Manager KELLY ABEL said, "Consumers and radio programmers alike have been turning to older tracks and deeper catalog, as opposed to new hits.... What we do see is that we humans adapt quickly to unprecedented moments of difficulty. It’s clear that we look to music to get the emotional comfort we need -- whether that’s finding strength in anthems, reviving old familiar hits or listening to soothing music."

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