Leading Brands in Canada's Music & Podcasts Category: Q3 2024 Analysis

Introduction

In the dynamic world of digital music and podcasts, three brands have emerged as leaders in Canada: Spotify, YouTube Music, and SoundCloud Limited. This article delves into their performance from Q2 2024 to Q3 2024, highlighting trends across web, app, and advertising data. With insights provided by Sensor Tower, we explore how these brands are shaping the Canadian digital audio landscape.

Spotify

Spotify's digital presence is substantial, featuring its website, spotify.com, and the Spotify: Music and Podcasts app.

• Audience Trends: From Q2 to Q3 2024, Spotify's website maintained a steady monthly visit count, hovering around 120M visits. Unique monthly visits saw minor fluctuations, stabilizing above 2.3M. The monthly true audience slightly decreased, remaining over 10M.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users showed a gradual decline from 10.1M to about 9.9M, indicating a slight dip in mobile engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Spotify's advertising efforts saw a notable spike in September, with monthly ad spend exceeding $600K and impressions nearing 188M. Instagram was the dominant channel, contributing significantly to these impressions.

YouTube Music

YouTube Music's offerings are accessible via music.youtube.com and the YouTube Music app.

• Audience Trends: Website visits slightly declined over the quarter, from about 156M in April to 138M in September. The monthly true audience remained stable, averaging around 4.8M.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users peaked in August at over 4.3M before decreasing to 4.1M in September, indicating fluctuating mobile engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Notably, YouTube Music did not allocate budget to advertising within this period, focusing instead on organic growth.

SoundCloud Limited

SoundCloud's platform includes soundcloud.com and the Soundcloud: The Music You Love app.

• Audience Trends: Website visits fluctuated, peaking in August at over 20M. The monthly true audience stayed consistent around 2M, with a balanced distribution between web and app visitors.

• App Engagement: The app experienced a slight decline in monthly active users, from 1.4M in April to around 1.2M in September.

• Ad Spend & Channels: SoundCloud's monthly ad spend decreased over the quarter, with the highest allocation in April at about $56K. YouTube and Instagram were the primary channels for impressions.

Conclusion

The Canadian Music & Podcasts category in Q3 2024 showcased varying trends across leading brands. Spotify maintained a robust presence, YouTube Music focused on organic growth, and SoundCloud balanced web and app audiences with strategic advertising. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data, including Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics, remains essential for understanding these cross-platform dynamics. By leveraging Sensor Tower's insights, decision-makers can better navigate the evolving digital audio landscape and make informed strategic choices.

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