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Report: Facebook Plays a Relatively Minor Role In Music Discovery...

Friday, May 11, 2012
by  paul

The industry's addiction with likes, friends, and followers is reaching junkie status. So maybe this is a step towards recovery.  Or, at least a little more balance: according to a new finding from NPD Group, social media's role in music discovery is actually minor compared to other formats.  In fact, far stodgier platforms like AM/FM radio, TV, and simple person-to-person recommendations tower in importance over crafty Facebook campaigns.   

Check out this breakdown from NPD Group researcher Russ Crupnick, who decided to ask music fans a fairly simple question: 

 

"How did you first hear about (whatever song) you wanted to hear again?"

 

These were 'highly-engaged music fans,' not disconnected, casual listeners.  Yet Crupnick still found that old-school radio played a stunningly disproportionate role in discovery.

 

 

Crupnick was far from dismissive of social networking platforms, but noted that this space is 'a little bit overhyped'.  But could it be that Facebook is actually wildly overhyped, totally overblown, and not as effective as we thought?  Over in concert-land, Digital Music News recently found entrants like Songkick having little impact on concert attendance, despite creating more awareness than ever before. 

But wait! Critics blasted that report, saying it's just too early to judge - and there are significant lag-times at work.  Perhaps inside the bubble, Facebook-connected apps and alerts are in full swing, but in reality, there's still an upward curve.  Which is why when Crupnick asked these same consumers what it would take to get them to buy more music, many said 'more Facebook alerts'!   

Huh?

 

(actually, the right side of this graph goes on with even more reasons, which you can see here). 





  • Comments Closed
    Comments (40)

    @aprilwensel Friday, May 11, 2012

    Innnnteresting stats...


    tippysdemise Saturday, May 12, 2012

    the vast majority of listeners like popular songs. 

    one hears popular songs on traditional radio. 


    Versus Thursday, May 17, 2012

    "the vast majority of listeners like popular songs."

    Isn't that a tautology?


    @tomssatchwell Saturday, May 12, 2012

    Facebook actually has relatively little impact on new music discovery, but is it too soon to judge?


    joe Monday, May 14, 2012

    BREAKING NEWS: MYSPACE HAS(D) NO IMPACT ON MUSIC!

    ditto for facebook and all the other "meaningless" friends.

    won't you be my friend?


    @torchlightpromotions Saturday, May 12, 2012

    Don't underestimate the power of radio - it's how most people still discover new music


    ninerox Sunday, May 13, 2012

    curious........did tv commercials play any measurable role?


    http://tomhitt.com Sunday, May 13, 2012

    Good question!


    Tom Hitt Sunday, May 13, 2012

    Nose... Grindstone... as it was, so it shall ever be.


    @llornkcor Sunday, May 13, 2012

    Wow, people still listen to the radio?!?


    @jennyandthejens Sunday, May 13, 2012

    radio rules.


    @phonobase Sunday, May 13, 2012

    I told you, dear readers. The illusions of social media...


    Visitor Sunday, May 13, 2012

    Would reverse psychology work then? Dont go like Vienna or ARIZONA on facebook!


    @donnieallen Sunday, May 13, 2012

    Very interesting!


    claesolson Monday, May 14, 2012

    Important Q (at least for a swede) ;o)

    Was the research done in UK, US or where? And what age group?


    @forcemm Monday, May 14, 2012

    Once again, radio is still the top place people discover new music.


    @tomredfern Monday, May 14, 2012

    Facebook. Not as important as you thought you were...


    David Monday, May 14, 2012

    Presumably Facebook plays a fairly large part in the 'Friend played/sent/gave' category though...


    Visitor Monday, May 14, 2012

    No music discovery on Satellite Radio? Hard to believe considering there are 23 million subscribers.


    @KSJDRadio Monday, May 14, 2012

    Radio rules when it comes to discovering new music. Especially at KSJD, where our DJs are the best!


    @ONErpm Monday, May 14, 2012

    Pretty revealing stat sheet about music disovery these days…

    FM Radio still destroys every medium by a large margin.


    @paulgreenberg Monday, May 14, 2012

    Wow - traditional radio still drives the most discovery of new songs by more than 2x anything else.


    Julio Muniz Monday, May 14, 2012

    No surprise here, most peope want to be entertained, don't want to discover anything new, they expect somebody else to tell them what they should listen to. 


    Just a Fan Monday, May 14, 2012

    That survey is about Katy Perry and lady GaGa. There is no data regarding all the good music that is NOT being discovered because broadcast radio wont touch it. The data is self-referencing in that sense, but it does tell you that people are just fine with curated music and they dont need 10,000 songs in the cloud so they can hit the 'skip' button every 3 seconds


    Old Man's Balls Monday, May 14, 2012

    If something is on the radio it is probably not something I want to hear.


    @radiovaduz.com Monday, May 14, 2012

    Hmmm...


    Define Social Media... Monday, May 14, 2012

    Curious on how friends played, sent, gave them new music? Could it be via email, IM, facebook, twitter, text messaging?

    Youtube should be considered a social media site too. You have followers & subscribers.

    Re Radio do we know how/where people are listening to traditional radio: in their car or at home with a regular radio or via the internet with a smart phone/tablet/computer? Traditonal radio also streams live online.


    @indmusicnews Monday, May 14, 2012

    This is a good read for bands and musicians!


    Jackie Bourassa Wednesday, May 16, 2012

    I did not see a bar for XM/Sirrius radio listening, which in actuality has a large audience and impacts bands quite a bit.


    Ottawa Chainsaws Thursday, May 17, 2012

    Hey i think radio  or fm or chat to chat dicobery of music is the major part people discover new music through radio fm but on the other side i think social media is not far behind to promote music and new songs.pepople whpo mostly use net get in touch with social cites and discover new music

    Ottawa Chainsaw repairs


    steve boston Thursday, May 17, 2012

    im a rapper look me up on face book Steve Boston or on twitter @brokendownent


    Versus Thursday, May 17, 2012

    What's a radio?


    @itsclassic954 Thursday, May 17, 2012

    Something to consider.


    @francobenvenuto Monday, May 21, 2012

    Aguante la radio!!! Gracias Pablo!!!


    Re: Report: Facebook Plays a R Tuesday, May 22, 2012

    Radio sucks! Let some corporate nazi pick the songs for me because I'm a mindless robot!


    @iamgameboi Tuesday, May 22, 2012

    Relatively big newsflash for artists trying to get heard.


    Bud Powell Wednesday, May 23, 2012

    This may change my next steps in marketing my music...Maybe I need to spend less time posting, uploading and marketing online and go back to getting my Cd played on local radio stations...Hmmm this is food for thought thanks for the info.

    However for those of you who are getting your music from the suggestions of friends check out:

    Bud Powell – 'Bout the Blues on Spotify

    What Were You Thinkin' on Simfy http://en.simfy.com/artists/840-Bud-Powell/albums/1468826-What-Were-You-Thinkin

    Look for Bud Powell songs on Finnair Sony Music Store

    http://finnairplus.securycast.com/default.aspx

    Happy listening!


    @powell_bud Wednesday, May 23, 2012

    Not sure I like the stats but this really made me think about my next move.


    Dukeofwild Monday, June 04, 2012

    The industry's addiction with likes, friends, and followers is reaching junkie status. So maybe this is a step towards recovery.  Or, at least a little more balance: according to a new finding from NPD Group, social media's role in music discovery is actually minor compared to other formats.  In fact, far stodgier platforms like AM/FM radio, TV, and simple person-to-person recommendations tower in importance over crafty Facebook campaigns.   

    Check out this breakdown from NPD Group researcher Russ Crupnick, who decided to ask music fans a fairly simple question: 

     

    "How did you first hear about (whatever song) you wanted to hear again?"

     

    These were 'highly-engaged music fans,' not disconnected, casual listeners.  Yet Crupnick still found that old-school radio played a stunningly disproportionate role in discovery.

     

     

    Crupnick was far from dismissive of social networking platforms, but noted that this space is 'a little bit overhyped'.  But could it be that Facebook is actually wildly overhyped, totally overblown, and not as effective as we thought?  Over in concert-land, Digital Music News recently found entrants like Songkick having little impact on concert attendance, despite creating more awareness than ever before. 

    But wait! Critics blasted that report, saying it's just too early to judge - and there are significant lag-times at work.  Perhaps inside the bubble, Facebook-connected apps and alerts are in full swing, but in reality, there's still an upward curve.  Which is why when Crupnick asked these same consumers what it would take to get them to buy more music, many said 'more Facebook alerts'!   

    Huh?

     

    (actually, the right side of this graph goes on with even more reasons, which you can see here). 


    Sex videos Friday, June 08, 2012

    I love music therefore this blog proved very interesting for me. Sex videos


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