Apple Music, Other Music Streaming Services Witness Growth Amid Pandemic

Music streaming services such as Apple Music saw an increase in the number of people subscribing to their services amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a report reveals.

According to a Nielsen Music Midyear Report for 2020 (spotted by Apple Insider), the music industry, as a whole, was affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The coronavirus forced people to stay at home for their safety, causing these things to happen. Concerts and other events that would normally see large crowds gather together were canceled, and physical copies of albums saw fewer sales as people avoided going out to visit physical stores.

If there's one thing that benefitted from the pandemic, however, it is music streaming services, the report said. Per Nielsen, about 70% of people were already avoiding crowded areas since March and 68% were already worried about contracting the virus and passing it on to someone else. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, couldn't stop people from enjoying their favorite music.

Here's a quick look at some of Nielsen's findings.

The music industry was doing well pre-COVID-19

Nielsen stated that the U.S. music industry was doing well from the start of 2020 until March 12 – before COVID-19 hit the country. The total audio activity during that period saw a 14.6% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.

COVID-19 negatively affected the U.S. music industry

According to the report, the U.S. music industry was negatively affected in many aspects, especially physical album sales. Yet, despite the slowed sales, the total audio activity in the U.S. between March 13 and July 2 – the time COVID-19 hit the country – increased by 6.2% year-on-year.

Music streaming services grew amid COVID-19

While physical and digital album sales slowed down amid the coronavirus pandemic, on-demand audio streaming grew due to the number of consumers staying at home. Streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify and more saw a huge increase year-on-year before and during the pandemic: about 20.4% between the start of 2020 until March 12 and 13.8% between March 13 and July 2.

Old songs were revisited

Interestingly, the report also reveals that many turned to listening to their old favorites during the pandemic. While 87% of those listening to music played songs they normally listen to, 55% of all music listeners revisited some songs they haven't heard in a while.