- Despite changes in album listening habits, almost a third of UK listeners (28%) want to reignite their love of listening to their favourite albums
- The biggest reason cited for not listening to an album in its entirety is a lack of time and being too busy
- Live events are one of the biggest drivers of album listening
London, 3rd October 2019: To celebrate ‘National Album Day’, global music streaming service, Deezer, has dug into the UK’s music listening trends and found that despite Brits listening to fewer full albums than 3-5 years ago (49%), nostalgia and fandom are increasing the nation’s desire to enjoy more albums. Over a quarter of people (28%) say adolescent memories are a reason to listen to their favourite album. National Album Day encourages people to take the time and listen to more albums in their entirety and is supported by the BPI and ERA.
Deezer surveyed 2,000 UK adults* and found that just under half (42%) are putting their ‘favourited’ songs on shuffle or play individual tracks, with under 25’s more likely to do this (55%). While 15% of music fans under 25 have never listened to a full album, a quarter of this age group believe being a fan of the artist is the driving force behind them wanting to listen to more albums in the future.
Half have cited a busy life and lack of time as the primary reasons for changing their listening behaviour over the last five years. Deezer’s streaming data also shows the UK’s album listening time is now lower than the 26 minutes daily average worldwide – at just 17 minutes a day. However, 82% of survey participants have listened to a whole album from start to finish. The top places to listen included at home (53%), a car journey (32%) or on a walk (14%).
For those who do play albums, the order of listening has changed. Men are more likely to listen to the album as the artist intended. Over a quarter of listeners (27%) play an album from start to finish, with males most likely to do this (30% versus 23% of females).
One of the biggest drivers of album consumption are live events. Nearly three quarters of listeners (74%) confirmed they’re more likely to listen to an album in its entirety following an artist’s live performance. Another 32% listened ahead of a gig, a trend further verified after Deezer saw an increase of over 30% in its UK streams of Backstreet Boy’s ‘DNA’ album following the band’s performance at The SSE Hydro Glasgow in June**. Interestingly, Scots are the most likely to listen to whole albums in general (90%).
Nigel Harding, VP of Global Artist Marketing from Deezer commented: “Albums can be a big part of feeling closer to your favourite artist. You can understand their story and truly appreciate the passion and craftsmanship that has gone into making the album. But it can be easy to fall into other habits when you’re short on time. We want to support the album by encouraging music listeners of all ages to take a little bit of time to really enjoy the music. Dig out an old favourite or check out our dedicated National Album Day page in the app. You might be surprised at how many great albums you’ve been missing out on!”
Kim Bayley, CEO of ERA, commented: We know that in today’s busy and fast paced-modern world it’s becoming easier than ever to simply shuffle our music and listen to individual tracks on the go. But there’s no denying that the British public still enjoy the experience of the album and listening to a body of work from beginning to end. Whether it’s because of nostalgia for older listeners or declaring your fandom as an under 25, the fact that more and more people are looking to listen to albums is great news ahead of National Album Day on 12th October.”
Deezer is supporting National Album Day, a campaign organised jointly by UK labels body BPI and ERA, the Entertainment Retailers Association. National Album Day celebrates the UK’s love of the album and the craft that goes into making this culturally significant body of work. On 12th October 2019, Deezer will launch a dedicated National Album Day page within its app to help the nation take some time out of their busy days and relax with a favourite – or new! – album of their choice. Discover more at www.deezer.com.
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**The Backstreet Boys played SSE Hydro in Glasgow on 14th June 2019. The 32% increase is from 12th June – 15th June 2019.
Notes to editors:
For further information, please contact The Romans on deezer@wearetheromans.com or Hannah Wright hwright@deezer.com
About Deezer
Deezer connects 14 million monthly active users around the world to 56 million tracks. Available in over 180 countries worldwide, Deezer gives instant access to one of the largest and most diverse global music streaming catalogue on any device. Deezer is the only music streaming service with Flow, the unique mix of all your old favourites and new recommendations in one ever-changing stream. Based on an intuitive, proprietary algorithm and created by people who love music, it’s the only place to hear all your music back-to-back with fresh discoveries tailored to you. Deezer is available on your favourite device, including smartphone, tablet, PC, laptop, home sound system, connected car or smart TV.
Making music happen since 2007, Deezer is a privately held company, headquartered in Paris with offices in São Paulo, Berlin, London, Miami, Dubai and around the world. Deezer is available as a free download for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows devices or on the web at deezer.com. For the latest news on Deezer go to Deezer.com/company/press
