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Nestor, 31, Atlanta

Listeners: Trend No. 1

Sound Escape

Millennial and Gen Z listeners are seeking a more fulfilling and balanced media diet — and audio is the answer.

— Nestor, 31, Atlanta

Millennials and Gen Zs are seeking the right mix of content to match or make their mood, whether they’re escaping into a true crime podcast, getting hyped with a pop playlist, or soothing themselves with ambient noise.

For Gen Zs, audio is all about offsetting their digitally saturated lives.

84% of Indian millennials see audio as a mental health resource.

Millennials in India sought comfort in nostalgic playlists during the pandemic.

+195%

’80s Hits

+44%

’70s Love Songs

+2.4X

Increase in podcasts focused on mental health on Spotify among global Gen Z unique users in 2021, compared with the year prior.

The following podcast categories saw impressive increases among India's millennial and Gen Z unique users in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020:^*

^*Average podcast listenership in India increased 271% among millennials and 312% among Zs

Gen Z

Millennials

909%

612%

Mental Health

415%

359%

Alternative Health

327%

254%

Spirituality

306%

270%

Self Help

Audio isn’t just entertainment — it’s an integral part of listeners’ DIY wellness menu.

Before COVID we were all so occupied with all the things going on in our daily lives, and we never really got to discover things about ourselves. I never thought I could like someone like Lewis Capaldi or Sam Smith, but that's the only thing that's on my playlist right now. It just took a little bit of downtime for me to figure it out.

— Karamvir, 18, New Delhi

87% of millennials and 77% of Gen Zs in India agree that they use audio to reduce their stress levels.

In India, 87% of millennials and 80% of Gen Zs agree that they feel more centred and generally happier when they listen to their favourite music on a daily basis.

As millennials and Gen Zs incorporate audio into their self-care routines, brands have an opportunity to become a part of their daily practices through Spotify Advertising.

Want to Learn More?

Explore even more insights, trends, and takeaways for advertisers in this year’s Culture Next.

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Kat, 26, Toronto

Listeners: Trend No. 2

Blurred Lives

Millennials and Gen Zs are increasingly immersed in a mixed reality that blurs the lines between tangible and virtual, fact and fiction, and more.

Whether exploring the space-time continuum through a podcast, joining a big group chat via Clubhouse, or attending a live show on Fortnite, young people are navigating the liminal space between real and virtual through the most immersive of our senses: sound.

+35%

Time spent streaming Spotify audio from gaming consoles around the globe in Q1 ’21 compared to Q1 ’20

83% of Indian millennials feel that audio is the most immersive form of media.

75% of Indian Gen Zs agree that audio helps them experience a situation more deeply.

Audio pulls you into the story, it can envelop you, it creates an atmosphere that takes you somewhere else.

— Kat, 26, Toronto

62% of Indian Gen Zs say they can’t wait to attend a real-life music show or concert.

Over the last year, audio is the thread that has knit together virtual birthday parties, graduations, weddings, activist organising, and pretty much everything else.

Now, Zs are eager to resume IRL experiences, while millennials are more likely to continue attending virtual concerts after the pandemic is over.

Among millennials in India:

25%

75%

25% would rather connect with local music fans of an artist you like via an IRL concert

75% would rather connect with other music fans of an artist you like from around the world via a livestreamed concert

For gamers of both generations, sound is a tool that transports them to alternate realities.

When I’m playing Red Dead Redemption, I can hear cowboy boots hitting the floor, the sound of gunfire and corn mills in the distance. So I feel like I’m surrounded by taverns, saloons and Clint Eastwood.

— Karamvir, 18, New Delhi

80% of Indian millennial gamers and 63% of Indian Gen Z gamers agree that audio can make or break the experience of a game.

Audio allows brands to be a part of both physical and virtual realities. It can transport listeners to new worlds, but it can also serve as a soundtrack that blends in with their current reality and enhances their environment.

Want to Learn More?

Explore even more insights, trends, and takeaways for advertisers in this year’s Culture Next.

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Sophia, 17, Whittier, CA

Listeners: Trend No. 3

Symbiotic Creation

Real-time collaboration between musicians, podcasters, audiences, and brands is changing the sound of culture.

Digitally-savvy Gen Z listeners now play an active role in deciding the fate of culture. They amplify new artists, co-create songs, and form powerful global communities that make tomorrow’s hits.

Social media has created a community for music lovers of every genre you can imagine. People give recommendations or ask for recommendations, and we all grow our music tastes.

— Sophia, 17, Whittier, CA

42%

Gen Z Spotify users in India that said they’ve heard a song on social media, and then searched for it on Spotify.

Where Gen Zs in India are most likely to have discovered a new music artist:

39%

Social media

11%

Recommended through a streaming app or service

11%

From a friend

9%

An audio ad on a streaming platform / service

9%

A movie or TV show

7%

From an artist I already follow / listen to

5%

None of these

5%

On a curated playlist

3%

From a family member

2%

On the radio

Social media has changed audio culture for my generation.

— Lesly, 20, Jakarta, Indonesia

Among audio creators globally, 76% of millennial audio creators said that receiving feedback from fans or followers is part of their creative process, compared with 65% of Gen Z audio creators.

Audio creators — once protective of their solo creations — are now welcoming fans and brands into their creative processes and marketing plans.

Music is more than just words and melodies – it is a language that surpasses boundaries and limits, uniting people in a manner that’s unbreakably unique. For me it’s this language that builds a bond with my fans, who are more like my family, helping me sail through highs and lows – with their support, love and motivation. I cherish these relationships built over miles, and I shall continue to put my best foot forward, to ensure they hold their head up high with pride, as Armaanians

— Music artist Armaan Malik

If fans are a part of the creative process, then they’ll be much more inclined to listen.

— Max, 15, Petersfield, U.K

Gen Zs and millennials are eager to co-create with brands too. Pull back the curtain and give your audience a backstage pass to your brand’s creative process — and the opportunity to be part of it.

Want to Learn More?

Explore even more insights, trends, and takeaways for advertisers in this year’s Culture Next.

Download Report

Wil, host of SUPERHUMAN

Creators: Trend No. 1

The “It” Source

Podcast creators are fast becoming the front page, the 6 o’clock news, the silver screen, and the classroom — especially for Gen Zs, who already turn to their phones as their primary news source.

There’s a higher level of trust with podcast audiences because it’s more raw. It’s kind of like hanging out and seeing this side of someone that’s as personal as it can get. I mean, that was my experience when I started listening to podcasts. When I would listen to someone talk, it’s almost like you’re just hanging out with a friend or a mentor and having this discussion, even if you aren’t talking.

— Wil Dasovich, host of the Spotify Original Podcast SUPERHUMAN

48% of millennials and Gen Zs in India rank their trust in podcasts above traditional media sources, including national TV news, newspapers, and radio.

Millennials and Zs in India said that during the pandemic, podcasts made them:

50%

Feel more informed

46%

Feel more hopeful

30%

A better citizen

Reading a newspaper article or a TV program, you don’t know which writer has written what, and it’s all gone through an editor. With an audio creator, you know where the opinion is coming from, so you can gauge it.

— Max, 15, Petersfield, U.K

Creators say it’s the intimacy and casual nature of podcasting that allows them to be uniquely vulnerable.

Love Aaj Kal is authentic. It’s just fireside chats, unhinged, unedited, non-PR vetted. Those kinds of things fly because everything else in the content sphere is so curated, vetted and sanitised.

— Ankit Vengurlekar, co-host of Indian podcast Love Aaj Kal with Aastha & Ankit

Millennials, especially, feel emotionally connected to their favorite podcast hosts: 81% of Indian millennials agreed that podcast hosts “sometimes feel like a friend” (versus 67% of Indian Zs who said the same).

The intimate nature of podcasts makes them an ideal medium for advertisers to connect with engaged listeners.

78% of Indian millennials believe the actual voices of podcast hosts can make or break a podcast.

Getting personal endorsements from hosts who genuinely enjoy the product can be just as effective as getting a recommendation from a friend.

— Rich Fulop, CEO of Brooklinen (and team)

Podcasts have proven to be a uniquely effective ads environment: 41% of all listeners say they trust ads more if they hear them during a podcast, and 81% report that they have taken an action after hearing a podcast ad.

Whether spoken by a podcast host or a voiceover actor, audio helps brands find their most authentic voice — and make the biggest impact.

Want to Learn More?

Explore even more insights, trends, and takeaways for advertisers in this year’s Culture Next.

Download Report

Nina, 37, Compton, LA

Creators: Trend No. 2

New Voices

Through audio, millennials and Gen Zs are uplifting historically underrepresented voices.

Podcasting helps me connect with people and evoke positivity with deep, relevant, relatable and meaningful conversations. Also, in podcasting, it is the content that needs to shine through as opposed to video which hinges a lot on the setup.

- Poonguzhali Sundaram (host of Yours Positively podcast), Erode, Tamil Nadu.

New audio creators sit at the forefront of culture. They’re driven by affordable tools and platforms, and the conviction that their songs and stories matter.

This access and ease is especially essential for Gen Z creators, who are most likely to be producing and promoting themselves. Many Gen Zs, confined to remote school, started new audio projects during the pandemic.

For a community that’s largely in the closet, podcasting is a great medium that let’s them be their anonymous selves but still allows them to express their true feelings. We couldn’t have chosen a better medium than podcasting to share our love story with the world.

- Yogi and Kabeer, hosts of the Spotify Original Shuddh Desi Gay.

Lockdown every day was a free day, so I bought a guitar. If lockdown didn’t happen we wouldn’t have had time to develop skills.

— Max, 15, Petersfield, U.K.

We also saw more diverse voices behind the mic — bringing untold stories into the spotlight. And audiences are eager to listen.

This past year, specifically, I’ve felt more representation in audio than in any other industry. I’ve heard more narratives that I can relate to and heard from more BIPOC artists.

— Andrés, 24, Mexico City

76% of Indian millennials and 58% of Indian Gen Zs said they’ve sought more content from more diverse creators and podcasts in the last year.

Young consumers expect brands to reflect, represent, and empower them through their campaigns, talent partnerships, and participation in social justice movements. Audio ads and sponsorships provide an opportunity for brands to amplify important conversations.

Among Indian Millennials / Gen Zs:

Millennials

Gen Z

85%

66%

Believe they’re building a more equitable society

82%

63%

Agree that as a culture we’re more open to hearing diverse voices than ever before

78%

63%

Believe they’re building a “better normal” out of the pandemic

Want to Learn More?

Explore even more insights, trends, and takeaways for advertisers in this year’s Culture Next.

Download Report

Music artist, glaive

Creators: Trend No. 3

Generation Curation

Cultural curation — the reshuffling of music, podcasts, playlists and more — has emerged as an essential part of artistic expression.

With the power to forge connections, set emotional tones, and even launch careers, Gen Z audio creators see curation as a critical part of how culture is being shaped today.

64%

Global Gen Z creators that feel digital technology makes it easier than ever to be a cultural curator.

The rise of cultural curation is directly affecting the creative output of Gen Z audio creators, who regularly pull from different genres, sounds, cultures, and more.

The internet and pop culture have played a very important role in shaping my world view as an artist. There was, and there always is a lot of inspiration to garner, digest and use. That's the thing with our new age world today - at times it's a gift that silently / loudly keeps on giving, and for this, I'll forever be grateful.

- Music artist Zaeden

While playlists have been around for over a decade, millennial creators have recently embraced curating their own music and podcast playlists as a way to ensure their place in cultural conversations. Playlists allow creators to highlight their own work, share friends’ work, cite influences, and more.

60% of global Gen Z creators agree that everyone is a cultural curator in today’s society.

67% of global millennial creators said they feel more pressure than ever to be a cultural curator.

For me, curation is absolutely creation.

— Edouard, 33, Paris

81% of global millennial creators believe playlist creation is an art.

Brands can join in on this cultural curation through Spotify’s playlist ecosystem: branded playlists, editorial playlists, and user-generated playlists.

Among global audio creators, 83% of millennial creators and 70% of Gen Z creators see curation as a form of creation in its own right.

Want to Learn More?

Explore even more insights, trends, and takeaways for advertisers in this year’s Culture Next.

Download Report

Karamvir, 18, New Delhi

Advertisers: Trend No. 1

Affinity-hoods

As the most diverse and globally-minded generations to date, millennials and Gen Zs can’t be constrained to the neat demographic segmentations of marketing past.

Marketers should focus on cultural affinities: shared passions or interests that consumers identify with and connect over.

I identify more with the hip-hop community than with my community here in New Delhi, or in India.

— Karamvir, 18, New Delhi

Demographic data is just the starting point... People are much more interesting and unpredictable.

— Dexter Darbouze, Brand & Media Manager at Nike

While it may at first seem that global affinity communities could be hard for brands to reach, they’re actually easier to connect with than demographic segments of decades past. After all, millennials and Gen Zs come together on public digital domains, including social networks, streaming platforms, and more.

Audio is a rich space for reaching audiences through the cultural touchstones they love.

One podcast’s audience may span several demos but indicate interest towards one specific topic.

— Brianna Hanan, Marketing Lead at Squarespace

83% of Indian millennials and 70% of Indian Gen Zs believe that streaming platforms at-large, including audio, have significantly shaped how they discover and connect with broader culture.

To authentically align with Zs, brands should focus on surrounding the music and podcasts that represent Zs’ passions.

Among Indian Millennials and Gen Zs

Gen Z

Millennials

55%

78%

Have become part of a global community because of either music or podcasts

67%

75%

Have used music as a way to learn about cultures and experiences that differ from their own

51%

74%

Have made a friend who lives in another country because of either music or podcasts

Want to Learn More?

Explore even more insights, trends, and takeaways for advertisers in this year’s Culture Next.

Download Report

Travis, 33, Dubai

Advertisers: Trend No. 2

Remote Connections

Brands are adapting to reach a new millennial consumer whose lifestyle and habits have radically shifted.

For many millennials around the globe, everything from work to parenting to socialising and attending live concerts are still centred around a single location: home.

Life for myself pre-pandemic was deejaying 6 nights a week. Then it all stopped.

— Travis, 33, Dubai

Brands haven’t just had to figure out how to reach consumers at home. They’ve had to help them adapt to new ways of working and living.

Spotify continues to be a primary platform for connecting with friends, family, podcast hosts, and brands.

With most of our customers spending more time at home the past year, it was of increasing importance to meet them where they were. This meant adapting to changing listening habits. Fewer consumers were tuning in during their commutes and more from the comfort of their homes.

— Rich Fulop, Brooklinen founder (and team)

With more time spent at home this past year, Millennials and Gen Zs in India streamed audio on Spotify through connected devices more often in Q1 2021 than Q1 2020:

2115%

In-Car

361%

Smart Speakers

178%

TVs

153%

Desktop Computers

135%

Wearable Devices

54%

Gaming Consoles

79%

Millennial parents in India that report ‘we consume more family-friendly entertainment than we used to.’

I allow my 13-year-old son to deejay with the family Spotify account. It keeps the peace.

— Nina, 37, Compton, CA

Smart speakers have emerged as a pandemic must-have, especially among millennial parents: While 62% of millennial parents in India already own at least one smart speaker, 93% said they plan to buy one in the next 12 months.

The smart speaker has brought music more into every room and it’s made it more instantly accessible.

— Nick Bartle, VP, Marketing (Home & Mobile) at Google

Want to Learn More?

Explore even more insights, trends, and takeaways for advertisers in this year’s Culture Next.

Download Report

Advertisers: Trend No. 3

Working With Spotify Advertising

Reach your audience with digital audio campaigns that resonate.

Turn podcast fans into your fans.

Two-thirds of millennials and Gen Zs around the globe said they currently listen to podcasts weekly — and they’re increasingly doing so on Spotify. In short: Your audience is listening to podcasts, and Spotify is the best way to reach them.

Be heard in the moment.

Spotify’s Streaming Intelligence helps advertisers understand listeners’ daily moments, habits, and tastes. That sets the tone for ads to reach listeners at the right time with the right message. Learn more at Spotify Advertising.

Want to Learn More?

Explore even more insights, trends, and takeaways for advertisers in this year’s Culture Next.

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Culture Next

Listeners

Creators

Advertisers

Music is:

Healthy

Unhealthy

Passive

Active

Bottom up

Top down

Utility

Entertainment

A casual hobby

An intense passion

Sound Escape

Blurred Lives

Symbiotic Creation

Creators say:

The “It” Source

New Voices

Generation Curation

Affinity-hoods

Remote Connections

Working With Spotify Advertising

We can help you.

Ready to bring these insights to your campaigns?

Kenta Kayashi

Galactic Central Sun

Ed Isar

Jazzwalker

Karam

Don't Waste My Time

Get our 2021 Culture Next report.

Get our 2021 Culture Next report.

Let’s talk about advertising with Spotify.

We’ll be in touch.

Listeners: Trend No. 1

Sound Escape

The following podcast categories saw impressive increases among India's millennial and Gen Z unique users in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020:*

*Average podcast listenership in India increased 271% among millennials and 312% among Zs

Want to Learn More?

Listeners: Trend No. 2

Blurred Lives

Among millennials in India:

Want to Learn More?

Listeners: Trend No. 3

Symbiotic Creation

Where Gen Zs in India are most likely to have discovered a new music artist:

Want to Learn More?

Creators: Trend No. 1

The “It” Source

Millennials and Zs in India said that during the pandemic, podcasts made them:

Want to Learn More?

Creators: Trend No. 2

New Voices

Among Indian Millennials / Gen Zs:

Want to Learn More?

Creators: Trend No. 3

Generation Curation

Want to Learn More?

Advertisers: Trend No. 1

Affinity-hoods

Among Indian Millennials and Gen Zs

Want to Learn More?

Advertisers: Trend No. 2

Remote Connections

With more time spent at home this past year, Millennials and Gen Zs in India streamed audio on Spotify through connected devices more often in Q1 2021 than Q1 2020:

Want to Learn More?

Advertisers: Trend No. 3

Working With Spotify Advertising

Turn podcast fans into your fans.

Be heard in the moment.

Want to Learn More?

The following podcast categories saw impressive increases among India's millennial and Gen Z unique users in Q1 2021 compared to Q1 2020:^*

^*Average podcast listenership in India increased 271% among millennials and 312% among Zs