Singapore – Music streaming platform Spotify in Singapore has recently released its insights on listenership among users in Southeast Asia, with recommendations on how brands can utilize the platform as a way to communicate with their consumer base.
The insights found that K-Pop’s streaming statistics amount to 500 million monthly streams in SEA alone, with a 1,800% increase in share of listening on Spotify since 2014.
In times of crisis that create cultural shifts, younger generations go all in for businesses that take a stance. About 65% like it when brands tell the world exactly where they stand and the causes they support – and that’s because discourse around social and political problems has truly found its way into everyday conversation.
Furthermore, 41% of Southeast Asia’s Gen Zs and Millennials agree that politics has never been as influential in pop culture as it is today, and, if SEA’s latest crop of artists and songwriters are anything to go by, complacency around the big issues looks like it is set to be a thing of the past.
With this in mind, Spotify encourages brands to utilize the platform through promotion of local artists, riding the pop culture wave of the Gen Z demographic, leveraging the genre to suit pop culture tastes as well as using music streaming channels such as playlists to create a ‘postcard’ that serves as a message to a brand’s consumer base.
Furthermore, Spotify encourages brands to recognize allyship or recognition of breaking social barriers or standards to communicate the message of ‘being who they are’.
“Gen Zs & Millennials understand that it’s ok to not be ok. The rules that govern this state of mind are complex, but music is (and has always been) an important part of the healing process – 60% of them still turn to music when feeling down or stressed,” the company said in a press statement.
They also added, “With listeners in Southeast Asia spending more than 2 hours daily on Spotify, audio is primed to take centre stage for advertisers looking to insert themselves into the narrative. We are entering a golden age for audio, and a whole new frontier for the audio advertising medium. Old habits may die hard, but lockdown has created new rituals – and new moments in the day (and night) where advertisers have the opportunity to capture audience attention.”
