The future's bright for specialist steaming subscriptions - if you make the right connection

Most of us won’t need to be told that streaming services enjoyed a surge in 2020. After a pandemic spent goggle-eyed watching Netflix and listening to Spotify on a loop, how could it be any other way?

According to media watchdog Ofcom, more than 12 million people signed up to a new video streaming service during lockdown. UK viewers have spent 40% of their days watching TV and online video content over the past year. Much of this increase is down to the fact that people have been using subscription services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.

We turned to music and podcasts to keep ourselves occupied, too. A survey by BPI states that Brits listened to 139.3bn audio streams. That’s up 25.1bn on 2019, and makes 2020 the biggest ever annual growth in audio streaming volume. And it’s only going to get bigger. Right now, the average UK home subscribes to 2.3 streaming services, compared with 3.1 in the US.

Unsurprisingly, it’s the big players that have seen the most traffic. But as people become more accustomed to this method of delivery, there’ll be an increased demand for niche delivery systems. Those with more esoteric desires – DJ-led, jazz or classical services, for example – soon tire of mainstream providers that delve into the same catalogues in order to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. Laser-focused content that hits the spot provides real value to those consumers, and more of them are cottoning on.

Niche is where the world is heading. Look at Curzon’s pay-on-demand streaming service – it specifically targets lovers of independent world cinema, and has enjoyed success where Cineworld and Odeon’s streaming services have failed. UKTV is another example – it provides something that mainstream TV doesn’t by feeding people’s specific passions via its tailored channels – Dave, Gold, W, Drama, etc.

What are you really offering?

We see this pattern of behaviour in other sectors, too, including craft beer. The lager drinker turned real-ale afficionado seeks out a more recherché experience. Tastes develop and niches form. Targeting these kinds of people isn’t about being market leader, it’s about providing a product or service that feeds a specific need, and becoming an essential part of life for that group. But to become firmly entrenched, you need to think about what you’re offering beyond fizzy liquid in a can.

Ask yourself why people are turned on by any clique. Often it’s about aligning with like-minded people, about belonging, and identifying with a particular tribe. People like to indulge their passions, progress their understanding and be validated by others. Exclusivity can be a powerful motivator, boosting desirability. It appeals to the human desire for knowledge, expertise and status. Where the big guns try to be all things to all people, there’s an opportunity here for bespoke offerings to make a more profound impact.

Keep it human

Classical music fans have long felt underserved by streaming services. Try labouring over Spotify in a quest to find the Rachmaninoff piano concerto played by your favourite soloist and you’ll see what I mean. It’s no wonder that classical music presently constitutes less than 1% of all streaming services.

Metadata is clearly an issue. In the case of classical music, relevant and important metadata includes the name of the piece of music, the composer, the album it’s from, the performers, the label that released the recording and the year it was made. So when classical music streaming start-up Primephonic approached us for help with its brand, perhaps it wasn’t a huge surprise that the team felt that bit rates, file formats and metadata would be the key selling points.

But it’s not exactly the stuff that puts wind in your sales and stokes your passions, is it?

Primephonic wants to be known as the expertly curated streaming service that gets classical right. It wants to challenge preconceptions that classical is elitist by offering barrier-breaking services and experiences. We developed a new strapline to capture the brand’s core purpose on an emotional level. ‘For life on an epic scale’ celebrates the transformative power of classical music, the journey it can take you on and the sense of awe it can bring to the ordinary moments in life. So pictures of grand pianos and violin F-holes were swapped out for images grounded in everyday life, like bus commutes and wedding days.

Make a profound connection

Niche requires focus and aligning target consumers perfectly with your product or service, compared with mass, which is about casting your net as wide as possible. But the key question always has to be: ‘What is the customer benefit?’ There have to be intelligent navigation and well-curated playlists, of course, but we’re in the business of selling music to accompany people through life. You need to give them goosebumps.

While the first step is identifying a market and understanding the consumer need, of equal importance is making a genuine connection and demonstrating the emotional and life-affirming benefits. If your brand connects on an emotive level it’s more likely to earn your product or service an enduring place in people’s hearts, and have them turn to you for the theme tune to their life.

Ryan Tym is the director of Lantern, the team behind the creative brand strategy for Primephonic.