Music Streaming Consumption Fell During COVID-19 Lockdowns

Carnegie Mellon University - Researchers said countries where fewer people were commuting and traveling due to restrictions also saw video platform usage surges The COVID-19 pandemic was expected to change how people consume media. A new study analyzed online music streaming data for top songs for two years in 60 countries, as well as COVID-19 case and lockdown statistics and daily mobility data, to determine the nature of those changes. The study found that the pandemic significantly reduced the consumption of audio music streaming in many countries. The study, by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and City University of New York, appears in Marketing Science. "Our work is the first to gauge the impact of COVID-19 on digital streaming consumption in a global context," said Rahul Telang , the Trustees Professor of Information Systems at CMU's Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy , who coauthored the study. "It upends the popular expectation that online media platforms would benefit from the restrictions put in place during the pandemic, in part because this type of music consumption is not standalone entertainment, but complements activities that declined during lockdowns, such as commuting." Worldwide, the economic impacts of COVID-19 shutdowns have been substantial. But amid a market meltdown, some anticipated that demand for digital streaming services would surge since many people were forced to stay at home and work remotely, spending more time online.