Spotify’s audience is “superior” when it comes to quantity and quality, according to market research firm TNS, which said that the Swedish-based streaming listeners have unique listening habits that could make them more “desirable” for particular brands.

Surveying over 2,000 music listeners in the UK aged 15-64, TNS found that Spotify users are more likely to be socially engaged than radio listeners. Those listening to their favourite artists on the platform were more likely to use channels like Facebook and YouTube, which the researchers have said demonstrates the “high value” of including Spotify in a campaign where young, connected people are the target.

The service still has a lion’s share of the millennial market in terms of UK listening audience compared to rivals like Apple Music, and now 14 per cent more 15 to 24 year-olds use the service than those of the same age group who listen to the radio, but the demographic of the app is evolving. The gap between older radio listeners and Spotify users is closing with just five per cent less 45 to 54-year-olds now using Spotify Free than those who tune in to the wireless.

Year-on-year Spotify’s awareness among its core audience of 25 to 34 year-olds has risen from 80 to 90 per cent.

Overall the study found that Spotify’s free service now reaches close to 17 per cent of the UK listening audience, widening the platform’s incremental reach versus every major commercial radio station by 2.4 per cent since 2015.

Read the full article on The Drum