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Tech

There’s a new study on how people discover music–and it’s a little concerning

We’ve come a long way from discovering new music via the radio, wandering in record stores, and word-of-mouth. Bain & Company has a new survey on how Americans discover music in the digital age. (Yes, it’s an American story, but we can probably extrapolate a few things for Canada.)

Entitled Music Discover: More Channels, More Problems, the survey (n= 5,000 people) can be summarized as this: There’s too much music to choose from and it’s increasingly difficult for labels and artists to target possible fans.

  • 56% picked playlists created by streaming platforms.
  • 44% cites recommendations, shares, and reviews.
  • 43% said social media
  • 42% said movies, TV, and other media (radio included)

You can read the entire survey here. There are some nifty animated charts.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 41709 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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