Nearly 16 months after the COVID-19 pandemic led to global shutdowns, consumers are finally starting to return to the activities they love, and music remains at the top of that list. Overall consumption grew 10.6% year-over-year (YOY) during the first six months of 2021 (thanks to an 11.4% lift in on-demand streaming), helped by new releases from Canadian stars Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, Shawn Mendes and The Tragically Hip. These encouraging growth rates come a year after on-demand audio streaming saw a 7.6% decline during the first eight weeks of COVID-19 lockdowns, from mid-March to mid-May 2020, a sign that music is still playing an increasing role in consumers’ daily habits as Canada reopens.
Globally, audio streaming’s growth continued to heat up in territories like Japan, Poland and Turkey, which posted the highest year-over-year volume growth during the first two quarters. This was reflected in hits by Nathan Evans, NCT Dream and more on the Billboard Global charts during the measured time period.
Download the full Luminate Canada Midyear Report below for all the biggest trends to date in music consumption.
