Leading Brands in US Music & Podcasts Category: Q4 2023 Insights

Introduction

In the dynamic landscape of music and podcasts, several brands continue to dominate the US market. This article explores the performance of leading brands—Spotify, Pandora Media, and YouTube Music—focusing on their monthly deduplicated audience across websites and apps. Using Sensor Tower's unparalleled cross-referencing capabilities, we delve into data trends from Q3 to Q4 2023.

Spotify

Spotify's digital footprint is anchored by its website, spotify.com, and the Spotify: Music and Podcasts app.

• Audience Trends: From Q3 to Q4 2023, Spotify maintained a stable monthly deduplicated audience, consistently above 105M. The website saw a slight increase in visits, peaking at over 1.15B in November.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users hovered around 92M, showing slight growth towards the end of the year, reaching approximately 93M in December.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Spotify's monthly advertising spend peaked in November, exceeding $11M, with significant impressions from Instagram and TikTok. The OTT channel also played a notable role, delivering impactful impressions.

Pandora Media

Pandora Media's presence includes the website pandora.com and the Pandora: Music & Podcasts app.

• Audience Trends: Pandora's monthly deduplicated audience remained relatively stable, around 46M. Website visits experienced a slight decline in Q4, with unique visits nearing 8.6M in December.

• App Engagement: The app faced a gradual decrease in monthly active users, dropping to about 24M by December.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly advertising efforts saw fluctuations, with spend peaking in December at approximately $0.9M. Snapchat and TikTok were primary channels for impressions.

YouTube Music

YouTube Music's digital ecosystem is centered around music.youtube.com and the YouTube Music app.

• Audience Trends: The monthly deduplicated audience grew steadily, surpassing 45M by December. Website visits increased, reaching nearly 978M in December.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users showed growth, culminating in over 50M by the end of Q4.

• Ad Spend & Channels: A significant spike in monthly ad spend was observed in December, with a focus on Instagram, resulting in over 40M impressions.

Conclusion

The Music & Podcasts category in the US remains competitive, with Spotify, Pandora Media, and YouTube Music showing distinct trends in audience engagement and advertising strategies. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data offerings provide critical insights into these cross-platform behaviors, underscoring the value of our Web Insights, Pathmatics, and App Performance Insights products in understanding market dynamics.

By leveraging Sensor Tower's data, decision-makers can gain a strategic edge, optimizing their investments and maximizing audience reach effectively.