New Study on TV-Based Music Discovery

I’m off to Singapore tomorrow to attend the Music Matters conference.  I have a feeling that this new white paper on music discovery will be a big point of discussion as TAG Strategic will there.  

While the full results of the study will be available through Billboard.biz on Monday, here are some top-line findings when it comes to discovering music by just watching television.

• Viewers are eight times more likely to buy music at the moment of discovery than at a later time.  (Hence the use of apps like Shazam to figure out what song is playing in the background on House or Grey’s Anatomy.)

• Much discovery has moved from brick-and-mortar stores to digital media. (Well, duh.)

• Discovery can be as basic as text on a television screen while still being effective.  (Which is why we’re starting to see more commercials that list the artist and song MTV-style.)

• The second screen, including mobile phones and tablet devices, has enormous, untapped potential to offer rich, immersive music experiences.  (Again, duh.)

• Connecting music discovery on television with music purchases and subscription services will improve monetization and engagement.  (If the powers-that-be can find a consistent and effect way to engage the audience this way, the rewards could be huge.)

• Stakeholders all along the value chain must band together for metadata, hardware, applications, download stores, and subscription services to maximize music’s potential on television.  (As I just said…)