Changing Their Tune: How Consumers’ Adoption of Online Streaming Affects Music Consumption and Discovery

Hannes Datta (), George Knox () and Bart J. Bronnenberg ()
Additional contact information
Hannes Datta: Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, Netherlands
George Knox: Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, Netherlands
Bart J. Bronnenberg: Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, Netherlands; and Centre for Economic Policy Research, London EC1V 0DX, United Kingdom

Marketing Science, 2018, vol. 37, issue 1, 5-21

Abstract: Instead of purchasing individual content, streaming adopters rent access to libraries from which they can consume content at no additional cost. In this paper, we study how the adoption of music streaming affects listening behavior. Using a unique panel data set of individual consumers’ listening histories across many digital music platforms, adoption of streaming leads to very large increases in the quantity and diversity of consumption in the first months after adoption. Although the effects attenuate over time, even after half a year, adopters play substantially more, and more diverse, music. Relative to music ownership, where experimentation is expensive, adoption of streaming increases new music discovery. While repeat listening to new music decreases, users’ best discoveries have higher play rates. We discuss the implications for consumers and producers of music.

Keywords: digital distribution; online streaming; entertainment industry; music consumption; variety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (54)

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2017.1051 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:37:y:2018:i:1:p:5-21

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Marketing Science from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().