Younger listeners in UK turn to Classical music with 37% of UK Classical music fans on Deezer under 35 years old and global streams from this age group rising by 17% in the last year. This is according to a joint report The Classical Revival in 2020 from the BPI, Deezer and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) using official streaming data and market research.
Research showed that 18-25 year olds accounted for a third (34%) of Classical streamers worldwide in the last 12 months. In the UK, the RPO found that under 35s were the most likely age group to listen to orchestral music during lockdown, almost three in five (59%) compared with a national average of 51%.This is in contrast to BPI’s consumer purchasing data from a decade ago, showing just a tenth (10%) of listeners were under 30, with well over two-thirds (70%) over the age of 50.
Yannick Fage, Deezer’s Classical Music Editor, commented, “Classical music is often associated with older people, but it’s exciting to see how mood listening and a new generation of talent can flip this on its head. Classical is a diverse and rich genre and working with the BPI and the RPO has given us the opportunity to dispel some of the typical stereotypes associated with it. Our data shows how streaming is helping to create a broader fanbase for Classical music and artists. I highly recommend people of all ages to explore Classical if they haven’t already!”
Classical music’s lockdown boom
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown, Classical streams by Millennial and Gen Z listeners continued to rise. Between February – April 2020, Deezer’s global plays of Classical music among 18-25 year olds grew by 11%.
RPO’s research found 35% of respondents under 35 felt listening to orchestral music during lockdown had helped them relax and maintain a sense of calmness and wellbeing. A further 18% said the genre had lifted their spirits in isolation.
This could explain why as lockdown hit in March, both modern Classical artists and traditional composers experienced global stream boosts. Particularly, streams of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach grew in popularity, while streams of female pianists soared.
The demand for Classical during the pandemic can be linked to a new generation of young talent, like 22 year old saxophonist Jess Gillam and 21 year old cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason. The 33 year old pianist Khatia Buniatishvili also saw a huge 35% stream spike, with 21% of plays by under 25’s. Sheku’s streams rose by 64% when lockdown started on March 23rd.
Younger artists are also bringing their own fresh take on Classical music. ‘Classical Goes Pop’, a collection of pop songs reimagined into Classical recordings, was the most streamed playlist by younger fans in the last year. The cover of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’ by 2CELLOS was the top played track.
Changing the mood
‘Mood listening’, where fans select music to match their emotion, activity or situation they’re in, is also broadening the appeal of Classical. The playlist ‘Feel Good Classical’, featuring artists like Jess Gillam and Lang Lang, soared in popularity as lockdown took hold. It peaked on 19th March, when its UK streams rose dramatically by 424% compared to the week prior. Over a third of its listeners (36%) were aged under 35.
As relaxation became key in lockdown, Deezer’s ‘Calm Piano’ continued to be the genre’s most popular playlist in March, particularly in London. The number of under 35 users of the streaming service’s popular ‘Classical For Sleep’ playlist rose by another 10%, to over half (52%). Streams of this playlist also spiked by a huge 284% across all age groups during this time.
The report also looked further into the profile of Classical music users. Overall, they have a more eclectic taste and stream more music compared to other fans. Classical listeners on Deezer stream 4.4% more than average streamers, while listening to 38 defined genres of music on average – compared to fans of other genres, such as Rock, who on average listen to 15 genres. Classical fans are also more likely to be male. In the last year, 71% of both worldwide and UK Classical streamers were male.
Classical listeners also show a greater appreciation of the album, streaming more albums in full than fans of other genres. Despite previous research showing that album consumption is declining, just over a quarter (27%) of the clicks made by classical fans in May 2020 were specifically on albums. This lies in stark comparison to just 5% of clicks on albums by pop fans.
The report which contains Chart information on artists, composers and albums is available for download here. You can also discover all of the classical playlists on Deezer’s dedicated Classical Channel.
