[UPDATED] “Music & Millennials,” a study by the Music Biz and LOOP, looks at how teens are flocking to music streaming. The report also reveals that while teens like the mobile convenience of premium streaming, they’ll go to great lengths not pay for it.
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15-19 year olds increasingly consume music via their connected devices like smartphones, which accounted for 41% of their listening time, according to “Music & Millennials,” a new study by the Music Business Association and LOOP.
Thus, teens are far more likely than the general population to upgrade to a premium streaming account because they want access on a mobile device. According to the report, 40% of 15-19 year olds cited mobile access as a major factor in their decision to upgrade, compared to only 29% of the general population. Most streaming music services only allow mobile access in premium accounts.
But that doesn’t mean all teens are willing to pay for premium streaming.
18% of the general population say that their premium access came through a free trial, a bundle with another product/service, or that they use someone else’s account. But among 15-to-19 year olds, 24% said they do not pay for their premium subscriptions, with 11% saying it came with a purchase and 10% saying they use someone else’s account.
How will teens react if labels, as the hope to, force Spotify to limit free trials, discounts and its freemium service? Will they flock to YouTube and other free options or perhaps shift, as the previous generation did, to piracy?