Understanding the listening habits of Malaysians on Spotify

By: Malati Siniah

This year marks music streaming platform Spotify’s fourth year in the local market. According to the company Malaysians spend on average 148 minutes per day on Spotify and in the past year have streamed over 7.5 billion minutes worth of music and 2.9 billion songs on the platform.

These insights were shared by Sunita Kaur, Managing Director for Spotify, Asia and Benjamin Chelliah, Head of PR for Spotify, Asia (pictured above) during a recent media session providing updates on the listening habits and statistics of Spotify users both in Malaysia and around Asia.

During the session they also shared the study the brand conducted together with Mr. James Yeow, Deputy President of the Malaysian Society for Music in Medicine (MSMM) and Senior Lecturer at HELP University Psychology Department, to better understand the timings and music choices by Malaysian users on Spotify.

According to Mr. Yeow, our body’s auditory system is more than just a tool for listening. Music ignites all areas of our development, including our intellect, our emotions, and overall literacy.

When we discover a new favourite song, our brain releases dopamine – the same dopamine that we get when we travel to a new place or eat new food.

Based on Spotify’s internal data, majority of users in Malaysia hit play between 4pm to 5pm. But what really happens throughout the day? Here is an insight into their key moments:

• • The Early Birds (5am to 9am)

In Malaysia, “Fun Workout” is the one of the more popular playlist in the morning. The reason behind this according to the brand is the high intensity pop music which helps to kick start their morning routine. Other early bird favourites include, strong beats from “Good Morning Malaysia!” while “Morning Stroll” shows that not all who wake up early are in a rush to get about.

• • The Busy Bees (9am to 12pm)

The playlist “Deep Focus” is frequently streamed at this time. Whether as a means to begin the day or to stay focus at work, concentration before lunch time seems to be key. Malaysian users also love “Acoustic Favourites” and “It’s a Hit”, a wonderful mix of the hottest songs packed together to keep them company through the morning rush.

• • The Midday Zombies (12pm to 5pm)

“Pop Waktu Kerja” and “Top Hits Malaysia” are popular playlists during these times, this according to the company is the perfect break time music for those in need of a little boost. Many also enjoy Spotify’s “Light & Easy” playlist to breeze through their afternoons with light pop, this mainly would be to counter the afternoon lull.

• • The Night Riders (6pm to 10pm)

Spotify’s Malaysia users love to unwind with upbeat house tunes from their “Night Rider” playlist and make most out of their nights with “Rock Jiwang” and “Party Life”.

• • The Dream Chasers (10pm to 1am)

According to Mr. Yeow, playlists such as “Sleep” and “Nature Noise” encourage deep sleep by turning our busy beta brain waves into anxiety-free alpha or dreamlike delta waves. Whilst, popular and sedative music around 60 beats per minutes found within the “Before Tidur” playlist is also a great way to elicit deep sleep.

Check out some of the other key facts shared by the company below:

• • 1 in 4 people with internet access are streaming on Spotify

• • Over the past 12 months, Malaysians have streamed at least 7.5 billion minutes worth of music

• • Malaysians spend on average 148 minutes per day streaming on Spotify

• • Most streamed artists: The Chainsmokers, Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd

• • Most listened to album: Starboy, Shape of You, 24k Magic

• • Top streamed songs: Shape of You, Say You Won’t Let Go, Paris

• • Peak stream timings happen between 4:00pm and 5:00pm

• • Most streamed genres: Pop, Hip Hop and EDM/Dance

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Entrant campaigns must have run between April 2016 and April 2017 in any of these six categories – consumer durables, consumer services, food and beverage, non-food FMCG, business services, as well as government, cultural, social and environmental campaigns.

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