Making The Connection To What's Already Connecting

By Andrea Kleid, Owner, Boxer Poet

Lately, there seems to be a lot of conversation around the word "consumption" as it pertains to what songs are the best bets to add to radio playlists. We have consumption charts that formulate streams, sales, research, CCLI ranks, etc. to help guide decision-makers to the most obvious next add. All of these tools are extremely helpful, but there is also something to appreciate about simplicity of streaming numbers.

I'm personally fascinated with the stats we're able to see on Spotify-our gold standard when it comes to streaming. If we pay close attention to the numbers, we can use this tool as a passion indicator for Christian music consumers. This doesn't mean every song that is over three million streams is an obvious add to radio playlists, but it is a great platform to notice what is rising up, and gives us potential songs to introduce to our audiences. Even though the Spotify user demographic skews younger than most Christian AC core audiences, in a genre as small as ours, we should be extremely interested in what engages the younger demographic and be inspired at the amount of music consumption within our format.

I'd love to share a few examples and insights from each example below. One variable to consider is the timeframe that some of these songs have been available. With that said, there are some impressive new songs already garnering major traction without much airplay yet.

Top 20 Contemporary Christian songs based on Spotify single streams

We all know that worship is often the surprising anomaly when it comes to the level of consumption. Interesting to see the Top 5 of all songs on Billboard or Mediabase charts are worship-oriented.

*Based on songs that are currently in the Top 50 of AC audience or Top 30 AC monitored charts. (updated 2/25/18)

Top 10 new artist singles based on Spotify streams

These are the Top 10 singles that are 8 weeks or younger according to chart detection and how they rank from Spotify user consumption. I've heard it said that, within our genre, familiarity and recognition of a song rises once you get above the two-million streams mark.

*Eight weeks or younger on the charts

Top 10 artists based on Spotify monthly listeners

Think of Spotify's monthly listeners like the cume of a radio station. This is a very interesting factor to look at when it comes to an artist's recognition associated with their songs. These are the total amount of fans coming back every month to listen to this artists catalog of songs. One note: These are the top artists based on monthly listeners that currently have singles in Top 30 on the charts, so this list can change based on artists releasing new music.

*based on artists with current singles that are currently in the Top 30 of AC audience or Top 30 AC monitored charts (updated 2/25/18)

My hope is that we can begin to embrace Spotify as a tool and indicator for what is working with our consumers. We cannot ignore that there is a strong passion and consumption for worship music right now. I believe it's because people are searching desperately for authenticity. It's been said before that we are hardwired to worship, and the numbers support this. If we can combine consumption with what is moving our listeners on an emotional level, I believe we have the ability to be the greatest curators in the entire radio industry. We are all searching for ways to feel more alive and more connected. We don't want people to tell us how to feel, we want to be invited in and reminded of who God is, and what that says about us. I believe that emotional connection is where we will always see the higher streams, the higher research numbers and the most connected audience to our stations.