Today there are so many different ways to listen to music that I find it overwhelming. There’s iTunes, Pandora, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Grooveshark, tons of other online sites, and the AM/FM radio of course. You can even listen to songs on YouTube.
I grew up when CDs were at the height of their popularity, and because of this I appreciate the concept of music ownership. I’m sure this feeling is even stronger with older generations that grew up owning records, tapes, etc. When things moved digital I began using iTunes because it provided the ability to still own music.
It wasn’t until 2010 that I first gave Pandora a try – about 10 years after its creation. I can’t believe I waited so long to become a Pandora user! Never before had I experienced music being brought to me (aside from traditional radio) that was so specifically personalized. I wanted to “thumbs up” every song that played the first few days I used it.
A year after I started using Pandora, Spotify came out. All of a sudden, the world’s music was at my fingertips – for free. I used Spotify to find songs I heard on Pandora that I wanted to listen to anytime. Together, they have been a great combination for music discovery and compilation.
As great as these free services are, I still have a strong desire to own music. There’s something about an artist’s album being “mine” that is still appealing to me. I don’t want to own everything, but I do want to own the songs and albums from my favorite artists. I guess I use Pandora and Spotify for casual listening while I do more “active” music listening via iTunes and my iPod. It’s a strange thing to understand and describe, but I think others will agree that there are different levels of engagement depending on which forms of media we consume. I equate the casual vs. active music listening experience to watching TV vs. going to/purchasing a movie. You’re going to be more engaged in something you seek out yourself.
This concept can be applied to advertising. An ad is going to be much more meaningful and effective if consumers seek it out themselves. Content that engages users can create relationships with those users unlike any ads that are simply pushed at them. It’s an important thing to consider when going through the media planning process, especially for brands that want to become part of their consumers’ lives.
AD(avid) 
Leave a comment