For some time now, social media has been hailed as the great equalizer in music.
Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have been credited with discovering new stars, propelling unknown tracks to global fame through viral trends, and giving artistes a direct line to millions of listeners.
But according to a global report from MIDiA Research, the reality is more complicated: while social video may help songs go viral, it doesn’t always translate into real fandom or streaming numbers.
The report, titled, “All Eyes, No Ears: Why Virality Is Not Building Fandom”, is based on a global study of more than 10,000 consumers.
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It explores how people discover music and what actions they take afterward. The findings raise important questions about whether the music industry’s growing reliance on social media for promotion is sustainable.
Discovery without follow-through
At first glance, social media appears to work well as a discovery tool. According to MIDiA, 52% of people said they streamed music in the past month because they first heard it on social media.
But the other 48% did not. This gap is significant. If nearly half of consumers stop at the viral trend stage, artistes miss out on potential streams, royalties, and, most importantly, long-term fans.
The report shows that younger listeners, particularly those aged 16 to 24, are especially prone to getting stuck at the “social media video” stage.
While this group is generally more engaged with music overall, they are less likely than 25- to 34-year-olds to take the next steps, such as looking up the artiste, saving the song on a streaming platform, exploring more tracks, or following the artiste for future updates.
In simple terms: people are discovering music on social media, but that discovery isn’t translating into deeper engagement or fandom.
Social media videos compete with streaming
One of the more concerning findings from MIDiA’s research is that social video is starting to replace streaming time, rather than boost it.
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Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube provide just enough of a song to make users feel satisfied, reducing the need to seek out the full version on Spotify, Apple Music, or other streaming services.
When consumers were asked why they didn’t stream a song after hearing it on social media, the second most common answer was: “I hear it enough on social media.”
In other words, short-form video snippets are acting as substitutes for the song itself.
This trend is particularly strong among younger audiences. MIDiA found that 16- to 24-year-olds are the most likely group to say they no longer feel the need to seek out new music, because they get enough from social platforms.
For the music industry, this is alarming. Streaming generates the bulk of recorded music revenue, while social videos account for only a small fraction.
If fans spend more time watching loops than streaming full songs, artistes and labels will feel the financial impact.
The zero-sum attention game
MIDiA highlights that this issue is structural. Social media platforms are designed to keep users scrolling, not to send them elsewhere.
Every extra minute spent on TikTok is a minute not spent on Spotify. This creates a zero-sum attention economy, where music is just another piece of content competing for screen time.
The more songs are pushed into social feeds, the less effective they become at driving engagement. Instead of helping artistes build careers, social platforms are incentivized to prioritize virality over loyalty.
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