TikTok Losing Share of Music In Q4 2024; Younger Users Defecting
According to MusicWatch’s latest audiocensus study, completed in January, there are over 103 million music listeners on social video apps in the US, a rise of 80 percent since 2021. These listeners spend an average of 6.5 hours per week with music on social video apps (TSL), or about an hour per day. That doesn’t include their time spent with other genres such as comedy or how-to tips. Some of that time is intentional, with listeners seeking out songs and artists on these platforms. And some is passive, algorithmically fed music intended to keep viewers engaged.
TikTok gets most of the attention, but it doesn’t get all of the TSL. In fact, TikTok has stiffening competition from Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook when it comes to time spent listening to music on short-form video platforms. Year over year TikTok dropped five (5) share points in the music category to a 29 percent share. Combined, Meta has a 36 share, including both Instagram and Facebook, and YouTube Shorts came in with an 26 share, up 2 pps. versus year-ago.
Perhaps most shocking is TikTok’s decline among it’s core constituents aged 13-24. TikTok’s share fell 9 points from 51 to 42 percent among the younger demographic, with Instagram and YouTube picking up most of the difference. Among the 45 and older segment TikTok lost 4 share points while YouTube and Facebook posted gains.
It’s hard to gauge whether TikTok’s dip was due to uncertainty around the app’s status in the US, or a more organic shift to competitors. The key takeaway is that artists need to think broadly about social video; TikTok’s hasn’t been the only game in town for some time.