The behavioral characteristics of the electronic music fans

A survey was undertaken in which 4,404 respondents participated to share their behavioral habits with regard to their interaction with music and its marketplace. Analysis of the responses was performed in order to discover differences in behavior between those who identify as electronic music fans and those who identify as fans of other genres. Various behaviors were questioned in relation to listening habits, social media engagement, spending history, willingness to pay, and more. The data show that electronic music fans do behave differently from fans of other genres in a variety of respects (e.g. price expectations, music format preferences, and social media habits – among others).

The motivation to conduct this research stemmed from several music industry reports and other studies that have shown that the business and the consumers surrounding electronic music have certain characteristics that differ from the rest of the music market. This research aimed to expand upon the existing information and provide a deeper analysis of why this is the case. The intention was to find answers for any previously observed cross-genre behavioral anomalies as well as to explore other potential differences in behavior not yet studied.

One example highlighting the differences between electronic music and other genres was a 2012 Nielsen industry report which showed that digital track sales of electronic music grew 36% that year while overall digital track sales growth for the industry was a mere 5%. An assumption was made that in order to achieve such a relatively high level of growth, consumers of electronic music must be behaving differently than consumers of other styles of music. [1]

Upon further investigation, this assumption was supported by a 2013 study performed by ticketing company Eventbrite in partnership with the Harris Interactive Service Bureau. The study took the form of a survey of 1,019 respondents through which they were able to show some clear differences in the behavioral patterns of electronic music fans compared to fans of other genres. For instance, the study found that 67% of electronic music fans heard about the events that they attended via social media compared to only 40% for “other” concertgoers. The study also found that 73% of electronic music fans report that seeing friends post about attending an event on various social media platforms makes them want to attend the event more. This was compared to other music fans where only 36% held the same response.

Q: HOW MANY TIMES PER MONTH DO YOU SHARE MUSIC ON SOCIAL MEDIA?

ELECTRONIC FANS: 8.73

OTHER GENRE FANS: 6.04

Summary

•    Electronic music fans have shown themselves to be a much more “digital” crowd. They more strongly prefer higher quality digital formats of recorded music. Additionally, they are willing to pay more than fans of other genres to obtain those high quality digital files. Unsurprisingly, they are less willing to pay for physical formats such as CDs and vinyl records. Even if the music they desire is available to stream, electronic music fans are still more likely to purchase the high quality digital files (if available) than they are to refrain from purchasing the music all together.

•    Not only are electronic fans listening to more music, but also they are listening to more artists overall – not just repeating their favorites. They are discovering more and consuming more than fans of other genres. Their methods of discovery also differ somewhat significantly.

•    Electronic music fans have shown that they are individually contributing less money per year to recorded music than fans of other genres. However, they are sharing music more often via social media. The relative value of social media shares to dollars is unknown, but undoubtedly sharing does provide some indirect financial contribution.

•    Lastly, electronic music fans have shown a unique preference for online streaming of music. While Soundcloud was preferred roughly three times less than YouTube for fans of other genres, it was the most preferred platform overall for electronic music.

Source:
www.midem.com