Music streaming cancellations rise amid economic gloom

Over 1 million music streaming subscriptions were cancelled in the UK last quarter, according to new Kantar data, with over a third (37%) of cancellations being attributed to wanting to save money amid increases in cost of living.

The number of cancellations is up 4% from the same period in 2021.

Among new subscriptions, Amazon Music Unlimited led the way in Germany, Great Britain, and the US, ahead of Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. Spotify was more popular in Australia, comprising 43% of new music on demand subs in Q1 2022.

Kantar notes that the number of new music subscribers has fallen to below 1% of the population in Britain, with the US and Germany also seeing a drop in subs compared to Q1 2021.

The data analytics consultancy also reported that subscriptions fell fastest among under-35s globally (from 57% to 53.5% year-on-year), including a particularly sharp drop in the US of 5 million subscription losses (from 69% to 63%).

Three of the top five reasons for cancellation among young people in all territories linked back to money saving, though other issues such as too many advertisements, technical difficulties, and a lack of a wide selection of music were also cited.

A recent Mediatel Video & Voice survey carried out by YouGov also found that consumers are not particularly likely to regularly review the various subscription services they use.

Only 15% of consumers “often” review how much they spend on monthly subs. That figure may increase as the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze belts, with four in 10 currently reviewing their subscription costs “sometimes.”

In contrast to music streaming cancellations, however, consumers in the survey generally reported being unlikely to cull subscription video on demand (SVOD) subscriptions.