With millions stuck at home due to coronavirus shelter-in-place orders and searching for entertainment, data suggest that new releases by major pop artists are drawing fewer listeners than normal. Instead, streaming metrics show, listeners are tuning in to old favorites from the likes of Bob Marley, Dixie Chicks and Bill Withers—the singer of “Lean On Me,” who died last month, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Several factors are denting pop-music listening. Major artists are delaying album releases, and workers ordered to stay home aren’t commuting, cutting into time spent listening to radio, analysts say, adding that news is drawing more interest for those who do tune in. And without live concerts or performances on talk shows, music labels’ promotional machines are less powerful.
The sharp decline in pop-music listening depressed overall music-streaming numbers during the past month, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data, even as consumption of older music has increased, along with video streams on services like YouTube.
On Spotify, the largest streaming service by subscriptions, cumulative streams of the top 200 U.S. songs have fallen in recent weeks—tumbling 28% from the week ending March 12 to the week ending April 16 to the low point for the year so far. The drop-off is especially pronounced, given that those weeks saw new album releases from major streaming artists including J Balvin, the Weeknd, Childish Gambino and Dua Lipa. Meanwhile, catalog music—songs more than 18 months old—has been on the rise and hit a high for the year in the week ended April 9, accounting for 63% of total audio streams, up from 60% the week ended March 12, according to Nielsen/MRC.
“We are seeing something of a shift towards comfort music,” says Midia Research analyst Mark Mulligan.
A study this month by Nielsen/MRC found more than half of music consumers are opting for older music. Bob Dylan and Hank Williams Jr.—as well as country artists Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney and Alan Jackson—are among those whose songs have seen an uptick in listeners. Mr. Marley’s catalog alone jumped 23% in the three weeks through April 2 over the prior four weeks.
Overall music consumption across sales and streams began plunging around March 12, when states including California and New York began issuing shelter-in-place orders, said Nielsen Music/MRC Data analyst Dave Bakula. Streams of children’s and classical music took off over the following two weeks.
The shift to catalog music poses a challenge to the record industry and services like Spotify and Apple Music, whose businesses typically focus on finding and promoting new hits.
Music services, meanwhile, which all offer essentially the same music, have tried to compete with one another on music discovery, developing recommendations to serve up what’s new and of potential interest to listeners.
Among those spending less time with music, 49% said it is because they are driving or commuting less; 47% said they are spending more time with other forms of entertainment, particularly video, according to Nielsen/MRC.
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