TikTok Drives Views, Not Fans — YouTube and Streaming Still Dominate Music Discovery

A new study by MIDiA Research concludes that the link between social media virality and a rise in streams or fandom is more tenuous than some might believe. In a global survey of music discovery habits involving 10,000 participants across various platforms, MIDiA’s latest report — released Tuesday (Sept. 16) — found that “social media is just one part of a wide and diverse discovery ecosystem” and that the landscape of music discovery on social platforms is fragmented. Discovery is not all coming from TikTok.

In fact, the study found that YouTube was the leading source for finding new music, with 52% of participants across a wide range of ages choosing the platform. Streaming services followed, with 40% of participants using them as their main source of music discovery. TikTok trailed at 37%. However, when broken out by age group, MIDiA found “clear demographic divides at the extremes, with younger audiences skewing towards TikTok and older audiences towards radio.”

MIDiA’s report notes that only 12% of all consumers fit the category of being 16–24-year-olds who say they mainly discover music on TikTok, and that the music industry’s near-singular focus on TikTok marketing is “neglect[ing the other] 88% of the population.” However, it should be noted that 16–24-year-olds are often the most engaged and sought-after age group of fans — and the ones most likely to drive cultural trends.

The report goes on to explain that getting the 16–24 age group to take action after hearing a song on social media is often more challenging than for older groups. “Simply being exposed to music on social media matters little if consumers do not stream the music they hear or, better yet, discover the artists behind it,” the report notes. “After hearing music on social media, consumers aged 16–24 are less likely than 25–34-year-olds to take almost every step.”

Here is a breakdown of what MIDiA calls “The Discovery Funnel,” moving from the top (easier next steps) to the bottom (more intensive next steps). It measures what actions consumers took after hearing music on social media in the past month, by age group:

See who the song is by:

Save on social:

Save on streaming:

Stream song, but not artist

Stream song and more of artist:

Become a fan:

Become a superfan:

MIDiA further points out that “song-to-artist discovery is a weak link,” noting that “almost half of consumers (48%) did not stream music they heard on social media in the last month and fewer than a third became fans.”

Another challenge for those pushing music on TikTok in hopes of off-platform success: the report finds that only 33% of consumers have ever used its most popular features, such as “Add to music app.” Participants in the 16–24 age bracket are less likely than 25–34-year-olds to have used any of TikTok’s music features (e.g., add to music app, share, presave, TikTok Shop for merch, in-app artist experiences, fan spotlight and more). Specifically for “Add to music app,” which is the central link between TikTok song discovery and off-platform listening, only 30% of 16–24-year-olds had used it, compared to 38% of 25–34-year-olds.

“When TikTok users discover artists, they are more interested in following their content than in listening to their music on streaming platforms. TikTok is driving more TikTok consumption rather than streaming consumption,” the report notes, adding that close to three-quarters of users who follow artists on TikTok do not explore the artist’s music off platform.

There may also be a link between frequent music exposure on social media and a listener’s disinterest in finding the song again on streaming platforms, where artists earn significantly higher royalties. MIDiA found that 28% of 16–24-year-olds (compared to 24% of all consumers) say they “hear [a given song] enough on social media,” and 22% of 16–24-year-olds (compared to 18% of overall consumers) say they “hear too much music on social media,” which keeps them from going to streaming services.

In an attention economy, where consumers have finite time to spend listening to music as well as pursuing other entertainment options, it’s also troubling that 18% of users of all ages say that they do not want to stream a song they hear on social media because they “do not want to interrupt [their] social media session.” MIDiA concludes that the funnel from “social to streaming is not only breaking but actively driving activity back to the social platforms, often in competition with streaming.”

Still, despite the challenges of converting social media users into real fans, not all discovery is happening on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. Forty percent of all consumers say that streaming services themselves remain their main place to find new music — the second most common choice behind YouTube (52%). Within the streaming platform, artists not only get paid more for streams than on social media platforms, they also have a chance to sell merchandise or concert tickets for additional cash.