Phoenix first launched in 2003 and is Bauer Media's proprietary music study on the changing face of music consumption and widely recognised as a unique and expert body of insight into the behaviours and inspirations of music consumers, says the company.
In this 4th wave of Phoenix, in order to uncover the influences behind consumers' musical journeys, Bauer Media worked with music research and strategy experts, Crowd DNA, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research techniques, and finishing the project by hosting a roundtable debate featuring our own music magazine editors and industry experts.
Key Phoenix IV findings:
1. Eureka moments define the complexity of consumers' music journeys:
They can occur at any point on your musical journey and are the culmination of a build-up in music intensity. At the Eureka moment, an individual becomes engrossed in a genre or individual band - this becomes a key point and protected memory on their musical journey.
2. Genres are dead:
As access to music has become more universal for even less fanatical musical listeners, music consumption is less stringently defined by genres as consumers cherry pick their journey through music from a much broader selection.
3. The album is still valuable:
The album still holds appeal for consumers. Where the quality and creativity is strong, consumers place value on the physical product with an initial digital download often followed up with an album purchase.
4. Need to control artist access to drive longevity:
In this social media age, it's all too easy to follow your musical icons on a minute-by-minute basis. There's a consensus within the industry that this ease of access is leading to artists losing appeal more quickly.
5. Band heritage, as well as the thrill of new:
There is a motivation amongst music fans for unearthing heritage bands as well as discovering new ones.
6. Story behind the song can drive consumer interest:
The story behind the song was important to consumers and can act as a key purchase trigger.
7. Live music remains enduringly impactful on the journey:
Live music experiences remain the pinnacle for any music fan and have a heavy and long-lasting impact on the musical journey. Gigs and Festivals drive heavy consumer engagement and word of mouth within social networks.
8. Media platforms need to be used collectively to drive purchase:
The musical journey is influenced by all manner of media platforms with each platform having a particular core strength in driving purchase.
9. Magazine consumers provide a key tipping point to the mass audience:
Magazines are particularly valued by music enthusiasts. This group is made of up of well-informed music consumers, but value magazines to filter their music choice and validate new music as they penetrate social networks. Magazines are a key tipping point in taking music to the masses.
10. Brands are openly welcomed, if they do it right!
Previously, consumers understood the need for brands becoming more involved in music, but they were perceived as a necessary evil. As execution and creativity improves consumers openly accept brand involvement. Our roundtable debate highlighted that the industry is placing these brand partnerships very much at the heart of their strategy.
The Phoenix IV study was presented to clients and agencies on Wed 11 May at Tutu's bar, Kings College London. It was introduced by Bauer Media's CEO, Paul Keenan, and co-presented by Rimi Atwal, Publishing Director of Q, Mojo and Kerrang! and Martin Diamond, Bauer Media's Senior Advertising Research and Insight Manager. Paul Rees, Editor-in-Chief of Q, and Andy Roberts, Group Programme Director of Kiss, were also guest speakers.
Rimi Atwal commented: "Our influential music brands - Q, Mojo, and Kerrang! - provide an unparalleled route to understanding the behaviours and inspirations of music consumers. By talking to them and industry experts, we were able to find out much more about an individual's lifetime journey through music, learnings we are keen to share with our audiences, music industry colleagues and commercial partners so we know how and where we can collaborate going forward."
