The rising cost of living crisis has forced one million music streaming subscriptions in the UK to be canceled by households to make savings.
A new report by market researchersĀ KantarĀ found a drop in the total number of individuals with access to at least one music subscription. It is now at 39.5 percent, down from 43.6 percent at the start of 2020. The reportĀ foundĀ that 37% of customers cited saving money as the reason for cutting services. This number is up 4% from the year before.
There have been 600,000 fewer users under 35s who have access to a music subscription compared to the previous year. Students who have access to it have dropped from 67 percent to 59 percent and those under 35s with a subscription also saw the fastest drop. They went from 57 percent to 53.5 percent.
For Amazon Music, 37 percent of people who canceled their subscriptionsĀ saidĀ saving money was one of their key reasons. This number has risen to 41 percent for Spotify.
āThe rising cancellation rates of music subscriptions is evidence that British households are starting to prioritise the spending of their disposable income,ā the reportĀ added.
It comes after nearly half of UK night time businesses said they were āunsureā whether they will still be in business this time next year.
According toĀ NME, recent research from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), 53.2 percent of the 200 businessesĀ saidĀ they are experiencing a 30 percent rise in operating costs compared to pre-pandemic levels.
The research alsoĀ revealedĀ that 48 percent of respondents are ābarely breaking even.ā Furthermore, 20 percent of those are losing money on a day-to-day basis.
You May Also Like: Record Labels for LGBTQ+ Artists
The increasing number of cancellations of music streaming platform subscriptions comes as peopleĀ faceĀ soaring price rises in areas such as food, fuel and energy bills.
āAccording to the Office for National Statistics, regular pay is falling at the fastest rate in more than a decade when rising prices are taken into account,ā states BBC.
Weston is an aspiring artist. He releases his music onto Spotify, and as perĀ BBCĀ says, it’s “not great to hear” that numbers are falling. However, the artist can see why people are canceling “with the cost of living crisis.”
“It gives millions of people accessibility, and plays the role of a record label from years ago,” Weston tells Radio 1 Newsbeat.
A standard subscription to the popular music streaming platforms Spotify and Apple Music costs GBP 9.99 (USD 12.27) each, per month. This makes the yearly price of the subscription just under GBP 120 (USD 147.38).
These types of premium streaming services areĀ unattractiveĀ options at the moment. Users claim their price of GBP 120 being “way too much.”
“Listening to music should be free. I use Soundcloud because it’s easier,” a userĀ tellsĀ Newsbeat andĀ saidĀ YouTube would be another option she would choose ahead of streaming.
This is not the first report of subscription services seeing a fall in their subscribers due to the rising cost of living. KantarĀ reportedĀ in April that 1.51 million TV and film services were ācannedā in the first three months of 2022.
Netflix, too, revealed it had lost 200,000 subscribers in that period. The film and television series streaming platform warned another two million were expected to quit in the coming months.
