At the end of the year, after another hot song inventory, a new wave of discussion has been set off in the Chinese music scene. We are not too surprised by the rise of hot songs, we understand and respect them, but we do not encourage everyone to "only hot songs". Because the content ecology and user surface of digital music have already undergone structural changes. The word "hot song" doesn't help us understand the gist of it.
The Chinese music scene has undergone low-level changes
Some numbers that reflect the basic structure:
Back ten years, in 2011 QQ Music celebrated the simultaneous online number of people exceeding 10 million, CNNIC announced that the number of online music users in 2010 was 362 million; and at the end of 2020, this number reached 658 million.
More new users have joined the music selection, so that "hot" is constantly being redefined. Essentially, differentiated user preferences surface, while popularity represents broad acceptance rather than absolute mainstream.
In 2020, the number of new Chinese songs released by Tencent Music Platform reached 748,000, and the scale of new songs was three times that of 2019. In addition to "hot songs", it also covers national singers, emerging genre circles, film and television game crossovers, idol fields, etc.
Massive content, new tracks appear, heat is no longer the only evaluation yardstick. For example, music production professionalism. On the Tencent Music Wave List, professional judges have recommended many niche songs from the quality of production, and there is no shortage of works such as Karen Mok's "So Many People in this World" that are both popular and professional. For another example, the circle appeal and innovation of genre music such as rock and rap, and the content integration and publicity value of film and television cross-border songs are important perspectives for us to understand good songs.
So, the biggest change in the music scene is that this is an era of pluralism. The process may be wild and immature, but it is more prosperous than ever.
In the era of pluralism, the important thing is not to "argue", but to understand "difference". Be a good connector for diverse content and users. Not just differentiated content, but also differentiated user needs, especially important voices that are not paid enough attention.
When we have a lot of discussions about the hot song market and the fan crowd, this group of people has not appeared in the public eye for a long time:
They are another group of heavy music users. The average daily listening time is generally more than 1.5 hours, and the music is very extensive.
What's more, they have independent musical preferences. Do not follow the mainstream, listen to the proportion of professional recommended songs (such as Grammys, Golden Melody Awards, Tencent Music Wave Chart).
Some of them expressed it this way:
"I'm very strict with music. I am more disgusted with saliva songs, and I cannot tolerate plagiarism.
"Junior high school listened to Lavigne and Bieber in Europe and the United States, high school listened to Chinese, sophomore began to listen to Japanese, and later liked rock, jazz, unlimited language. Now I feel that the electric sound is also good. ”
This is the current digital music ecology - heavy fans.
Research on Heavy Fans
A few months ago, we decided to revisit heavy fans. For the following reasons:
1. Heavy music fans are still the backbone of music consumption. Whether it is in terms of the length of time listening to the song, the paid action, or the level of concern for the music industry, it is. They have too little voice and too little discussion about them compared to their engagement. But in fact, what do they love or dislike? Why are you willing to pay? Are very important content directions.
2. They represent the pain points of good songs in the middle waist, and they are also the answers. An era of massive content is unlimited for heavy fans; an era in which hot songs occupy the public eye may not be friendly to heavy fans. Are they having trouble finding songs? Are there any unique habits? From the "song famine" phenomenon and "pioneering" behavior of music fans, we can think about the possibility of breakthrough in music publicity.
3. They are the seed power that drives the evolution of popular aesthetics. Heavy fans are somewhere between professionals and the general public, representing a high musical aesthetic. Better connect heavy music fans and quality music, small can promote the consumption and self-operation of quality music, and large can radiate outward and affect the public's aesthetics. In the long run, promoting the "quality" and "return" of music is more integrated, which is of practical significance to the benign development of the industry.
We analyzed the music data of the million-level heavy music fan population for nearly 3 months, and then invited dozens of friends to conduct one-on-one interviews. It turned out that:
1. The paid music subscription rate of heavy music fans is as high as 51.9%
2. They are mostly lightly cooked and high-tier city people
3, they listen to the head of the hot song TGI as low as 62 (compared to the large market)
In addition, they are:
4. Lovers of "quality music" between professionals and the general public
5, do not love hot songs, but it is difficult to be personally recommended to meet
6. It is generally felt that "song is desolate", and the pioneering ideas are magical
7. There is often a network of music dissemination around you
8. Strict and open to the music scene, with unique group psychological characteristics
……
Finally, we wrote the core findings and complete thinking of this research into the report "Heavy Music Fans: The Deserters and Pioneers of Digital Music", which was officially released today.
This report is aimed at all practitioners and those who care about the music scene. Starting from the group definition of heavy music fans, we explain them one by one: population distribution, typical portraits, musical preferences, music perception, listening habits and media touchpoints.