The impact of the Corona pandemic on music streaming service usage behavior

Table of contents

1 Abstract

2 Introduction

3 COVID-19 pandemic
3.1 How people’s lives are affected
3.2 Online services - more in demand than ever

4 Music streaming
4.1 Music streaming consumption: using the example of current figures from Finland and America
4.1.1 USA
4.1.2 Finland
4.2 Possible explanations/reasons for not listening
4.2.1 Lockdowns
4.2.2 Podcasts

5 Facts and figures

6 Study design

7 Conclusion and possible solutions

Bibliography

1 Abstract

The purpose of this research is to determine if and how the Corona pandemic affects music streaming consumption. To do this, the following research question is posed: "How does the Corona virus affect the use of music streaming services?" During the course of the research, it was found that factors other than the pandemic also play a role.

To answer the research question, music streaming consumption was studied and evaluated using recent figures from Finland and America as examples. Hypotheses were made and investigated as to what could be possible reasons for the decline in consumption. In the further course, figures from the largest and best-known music streaming service "Spotify" are evaluated to gain further insights. Finally, a quantitative survey on music streaming consumption before and after the outbreak of the Corona pandemic is conducted.

The evaluation shows that music streaming in the U.S., decreased during the Corona crisis, which can be attributed to the global output restrictions. When investigating other possible reasons for the drop in consumption, it was found that the drop in consumption was not only related to the pandemic, but also to the increasing popularity of podcasts.

Although Spotify is currently posting record numbers, its revenue is declining in the third quarter of 2020. One could draw from this that the drop in revenue here is also due to the output restrictions. To compensate for the decline in revenue per user, I provide possible solutions at the end of my paper.

2 Introduction

The Corona pandemic has significantly affected the daily lives of almost everyone on our planet. Many countries have attempted to slow the spread of the virus through contact restriction measures. All over the world we read headlines in the media, such as "Drastic restrictions in Arab countries, or "Corona in Italy, as many dead as in World War II".

Many activities that we humans have regularly carried out have been restricted by these measures, and the economies of many countries have also been put to a difficult test. But the outbreak of the Corona pandemic does not only know losers. Digital service providers and companies in the medical and pharmaceutical industries in particular are emerging as winners from the crisis. So are streaming service providers, such as Netflix, Spotify or Amazon Prime, which have almost completely digitized their distribution structures. In addition, due to contact restrictions and lockdowns, we humans are at home more than ever before, many people even work from home and thus have more time available to use digital offerings, such as music streaming. Paradise for music streaming services, you might think. In the U.S., however, a different picture is emerging for streaming service providers in the music streaming sector. Here, it becomes apparent that the music streaming market is declining despite the increased amount of time people spend online. But why is this the case?

What impact does the Corona pandemic have on the usage patterns of music streaming services? This is the question I want to get to the bottom of with this research paper. To do this, I look at the Corona pandemic and its impact on the everyday lives of citizens and the consequences for online service providers. Thereupon, I analyze the market for music streaming and work out different key data that result from different streaming data. As an example, I look at the market in the U.S. and Finland. I compare the findings with the effects of the Corona pandemic to find out the impact of the pandemic and its measures on the music streaming market. Furthermore, I look at the largest streaming service provider Spotify and relate the found out results to the music streaming market. Finally, I formulate some solutions to be able to regulate the influence of the pandemic on the usage behavior of citizens towards music streaming services and try to answer the research question with the help of a quantitative survey.

3 COVID-19 pandemic

The Corona Pandemic is the global outbreak of the respiratory disease COVID-19. In December 2019,

Everything started in December 2019, a pneumonia outbreak was reported in Wuhan. When more and more people were getting sick, the Chinese government decided to report this to the WHO (World Health Organization) on Dec. 31, 2019. On Jan. 7, 2020, it was discovered that the mentioned virus belongs to the family of the Corona viruses. The Corona viruses, which were discovered in the 1960s, can cause illnesses ranging from normal to very severe flu.

The novel virus got the name Coronavirus the disease itself is called CoVID-19 (World Health Organization, 2020). In the following months, more and more countries reported cases of the disease, which is why the WHO declared the outbreak of the virus a health emergency of global importance. This is the WHO's very highest emergency alert level. Due to the rapid spread and ever-increasing number of cases of the virus internationally, WHO officially declared the outbreak a pandemic (i.e., worldwide epidemic) on March 11, 2020.

3.1 How people’s lives are affected

The rapid spread has immense public health implications. By December 31, 2020, more than 85 million people worldwide had been infected with the virus.

1, 8 million people died as a result of the Covid-19 virus (Johns Hopkins University 2020). To limit the spread of the outbreak, governments of any country have taken various social distancing measures.

In order for people to protect themselves from the coronavirus, hygiene measures are recommended by the government. These hygiene measures are: Hand washing, hygiene when coughing or sneezing, and keeping distance. In addition, wearing masks in public is recommended. In many countries such as Germany, Italy or Turkey, masks are even mandatory. Even shopping malls and any recreational activities are closed until further notice and an easing is currently not in sight (Goffart 2020).

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