‘Every day looks like Sunday now’ – Deezer on COVID-19 streaming behaviour

The report, which includes activity for music, podcast and radio, reveals new audio consumption habits that are emerging amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The usual weekday streaming peak shifted from 7am to 9-10am. Fridays used to have the highest number of streams in the week, but with limitations on social activities due to the crisis, every day now looks the same.

“Our data shows us how people are adapting," Deezer chief data and research officer Aurélien Hérault said. "You have to keep your kids entertained, make sure to stay fit and still balance work and personal time. And the difference between weekends and weekdays is more or less gone. Every day looks like Sunday now.”

Deezer says contextual playlists and podcasts for activities like cooking and fitness are set to become even more relevant.

In the week following the launch of the Stay at Home channel, playlists like 'Mellow Days' increased by 335% while 'Feel Good' is the second most streamed playlist globally. The 'Happy Hits' playlist saw a 53% global increase.

There's also an uptick in sports content with ‘Sports Motivation’ being the top streamed playlist on the channel worldwide, while children's and meditation content climbed significantly.

The report also indicated a positive shift in streaming from mobile devices towards home appliances such as smart TVs and speakers. Xbox was the most popular device with a 60% increase followed by Android TV at 59%. Streaming on tablets (+20%) is still preferred to using desktops (+15%), which showed the least growth.

The coronavirus is creating an appetite for developing news that is being filled with an increased consumption of live radio. Although music decreased, overall live radio listening boomed by 19% globally in the last two weeks.

Deezer says people need about 10 days to adapt to their new solitary life. In Italy, data showed that although engagement levels dropped initially, they levelled out after the first week of lockdown. A similar pattern followed in France where there was an initial decrease after President Emmanuel Macron announced a lockdown on 16 March. However, engagement levels on the platform increased again a week later.

In contrast, Spotify last week posted its lowest numbers in Italy with 91.7 million plays in seven days on its Top 200 stream count of 2020, representing a 4.9% decrease week-on-week, according to Music Business Worldwide. However, global cumulative streams are up 3% week-on-week.

To support users through this difficult time, Deezer is also throwing in free three-month subscriptions for its HiFi and Family plans.

“Right now, we are focused on meeting the needs of our users,” Deezer head of global public relations Alice Suh told Music In Africa. “We want our service and content to help people cope with the current situation. Many of our users are confined to their houses right now. We’ve adapted our product to this reality and we're curating content to help users weather the storm.”

Meanwhile, Boomplay told Music In Africa it might consider dropping its subscription prices amid the pandemic.