Here’s some digital data from steamer Spotify – it takes the new breed of television viewer – the cord-cutter – and follows them away from the video screen to an audio delivery device and checks out what’s playing.
Spotify notes that this group is growing rapidly.
Citing MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett, there were some 1.4 million new cordless households created in just the last year, comprised of both cord-cutters and cord-nevers.
This group tends to gravitate toward specific musical genres, and high on the list are those that appeal to Hispanics and those that appeal to the young. Something that appeals to young Hispanics, like Latin Hip Hip, is a lock.
This is valuable information for terrestrial radio stations, but not surprisingly, the forward-thinking media usage profile of this group means they are much more likely to stream audio rather than get it some other way.
Here, from Spotify, are the favorite musical stylings of cord-cutters:
1. Techno is electronic dance music influenced by funk, electro, Chicago house, and electric jazz, which emerged in Detroit in the late ’80s.
2. Electronic is a broad term for music produced with electronic instruments and technology.
3. Latin Hip Hop is hip hop in Spanish or Portuguese, first appearing on the US west coast in the ’80s, and migrating to to Miami and the Southwest.
4. Tejano/Banda: Tejano, from south and central Texas has roots in European waltzes, traditional Mexican music, folk, rock, and country. Banda is traditional Mexican music and modern Mexican pop/rock, featuring brass instruments.
5. Latin (Alternative) Rock combines Latin music elements with alternative rock, electronic music, metal, new wave, pop, punk, or reggae.
6. Teen Pop, often a ‘bubblegum’ version of mainstream genres, is created for (and sometimes by) teenagers, often with lyrics about teen life.
7. Grunge, which emerged from around Seattle in the mid ’80s, described the grubby, stripped-down sound based in part on ’70s rock, punk, hardcore, metal, and indie.
8. Salsa/Merengue: Salsa is Latin dance music sometimes fused with jazz, R&B, and soul. Merengue features a fast, syncopated rhythm, unique instrumentation (like accordion), and often suggestive lyrics.
9. Latin Ballads consist of romantic, down-tempo love songs in a variety of genres
10. New Age brings downtempo, atmospheric vibe intended to relax, inspire, or aid meditation.
11. Children’s music comes in styles from folk to pop and beyond, and is generally written by adults for children to educate and entertain.
12. Classical is a catch-all term for high-art religious and secular music composed from the 11th century to the present, especially the period between 1550 and 1900.
And, a look at the flip side – least favorite cord-cutter genres:
1. Religious/Christian music has a religious message.
2. Gospel is Christian devotional music characterized by dominant vocals, either by a single singer or sung in harmony by a choir and a syncopated rhythm.
3. Easy Listening, mostly instrumental, often refers to big band and orchestral arrangements of standards, movie themes, and popular songs, or more broadly to refer to soft rock or adult contemporary.
4. Adult Contemporary is mainstream pop to a target audience of men and women aged 18-54, often via the radio, prioritizing classic hits over more contemporary hits.
There’s more to this study – involving connected home streamers, which we’ll look at soon…
