The rapid growth of the music and video hosting industry in 2020 [Covid-19]

People love to distract themselves with music or video content. Especially now, when everyone is locked up inside their homes due to Covid-19, with restricted means of entertainment. Therefore, music streaming apps like Spotify or video platforms like YouTube are becoming increasingly popular during the indefinite lockdown.

Their popularity is reflected in the traffic to their respective websites.

Global players have had a great year

Spotify, one of the world’s favorite music streaming services, has seen an 8.2% increase in global web traffic from the first quarter of this year to the second (726.5 to 791 Mn visits). Soundcloud is not far behind, with a 7.8% spike in the same time period (511.5 to 555 Mn visits).

In terms of overall traffic, YouTube remains unchallenged. With a staggering 97.98 Bn global site visit (April to June) and a 9.9% surge in traffic from January to March, YouTube is perched comfortably on its throne. This is expected since YouTube provides audio streaming services as well (traffic data provided here does not split between YouTube’s different services).

Twitch.tv and Dailymotion occupy the 2^nd and 3^rd slots with traffic of 2.66 Bn and 693 Mn, respectively, from April to June.

The following tables depict the traffic by country, for music streaming services and video hosting platforms.

Top music streaming services

Top video hosting platforms

Sources: similarweb.com | semrush.com

The increased traffic to these sites translates into a higher number of subscriptions. The global number of music streaming subscriptions spiked 35% YoY in the first quarter of 2020. Currently, it stands at 394 Mn subscriptions.

This growth in subscriptions is higher than the 20% YoY growth in monthly active users (MAU). This indicates that free app users are upgrading to premium subscriptions. Spotify and Apple Music are the top players globally. In the first quarter of this year, Spotify’s market share is 30% in terms of revenue, and 33% in the number of subscriptions. On the other hand, for Apple Music it’s 25% and 21%, respectively.

Source: counterpointresearch.com

Video hosting platforms are also witnessing similar growth opportunities. In addition to entertainment, small businesses and freelancers use these platforms to create interesting and relevant content to promote their business and engage their customers. According to studies, 80% of consumers had consumed more content since the Coronavirus pandemic, as compared to before the outbreak. And video-based content is only set to grow in the future, with an estimated 82% of all content to be videos by 2022.

Source: forbes.com

Banks and card providers should make the most of digital entertainment trends

These changing consumer trends hold important implications for banks. They need to be in sync with change. Especially now, in times of uncertainty, it is important for banks understand the pulse of their customers and cater to their needs. Banks should consider the possibility of partnering with audio streaming and video hosting portals to provide relevant offers to their customers.

However, staying relevant to customer needs is a multi-faceted task, and not just restricted to providing the right offers at the right time. Crayon Data’s flagship platform, maya.ai, has helped several of our banking clients stay on top of shifting trends, to enhance experiences throughout the customer journey. To do so, we have produced an exhaustive framework to measure how relevant banks are right now and how they can increase their relevance factor.

Get started now! Learn more about how banks can stay relevant

Also read, The changing OTT landscape in a COVID-19 impacted world