Country music listeners want more discovery, better recommendations from streaming

Niche genres can have a harder time reaching listeners on the most popular streaming service. Country music is one example of a genre that could see more growth with some additional promotion on streaming platforms. The Country Music Association shared research into the potential for growth in streaming country music. The group’s findings suggested that country music fans are less satisfied with playlists created by streaming platforms. The results pointed to a need for access to more and newer titles in order to facilitate better discovery. They also want to see better recommendations for country music to listen to, noting that this would encourage them to stream the genre more.

The research also found that paid users are streaming nearly twice as frequently compared with free users. Within the group of listeners who stream country titles daily, 69% are paid subscribers. The paying listeners are also spending more on other formats of country music.

Possibly the biggest hurdle for reaching country music fans is a lack of understanding about the technology. The top reason survey respondents cited for not using a streaming service was not understanding the features and benefits of those music platforms. Informing those people about the services would probably help to drive audience growth.

Anna Washenko