Insights from Tuned Global, Audiomack and SoundCloud on fan engagement, monetisation and the next phase of the music industry.
For more than a decade, the growth story of the music streaming industry has been defined by scale.
More subscribers. More catalogue. More algorithmic discovery. More plays.
Streaming democratised access to music globally and transformed the industry’s economics. But as the market matures, a new phase is emerging.
The next chapter of music streaming will be defined less by passive listening and more by engagement, community and diversified monetisation.
In the lead-up to SXSW, Tuned Global CEO Con Raso joined industry leaders including Brian Zisook (Audiomack), Jordan Pettinato (SoundCloud) and Janishia Jones to discuss how the industry is evolving in what many now describe as the superfan era.
Across those discussions, four themes consistently emerged: deeper fan engagement, new monetisation models, the health of the streaming ecosystem and the expansion of music into entirely new digital environments.
Together, they point to a fundamental shift in how music platforms will operate in the coming decade.
The superfan economy refers to a shift in the music industry where platforms prioritise deep engagement with highly dedicated fans rather than passive listening at scale. Instead of focusing only on play counts, music streaming platforms increasingly measure engagement signals such as saves, playlist additions, comments, direct fan interaction and community participation.
This model reflects a broader evolution in music streaming where revenue growth is increasingly driven by fan relationships, interactive experiences and diversified monetisation models rather than streaming volume alone.
The first shift is behavioural. Music streaming platforms are increasingly recognising that engagement signals matter more than raw play counts.
As Brian Zisook, Co-Founder of Audiomack, observed:
“Our number one stream source is the listener library.”
That insight reflects a broader change in how listeners interact with music.
Streaming’s early success was built around frictionless access and algorithmic discovery. Lean-back listening allowed users to explore massive catalogues effortlessly. But passive listening does not necessarily translate into meaningful fandom.
Platforms are now paying closer attention to signals that indicate deeper engagement:
These signals reflect intent and loyalty rather than passive consumption.
As Jordan Pettinato, Senior Director of Business Development and Partnerships at SoundCloud, noted:
“The top session starts on SoundCloud come from the search page or the library page.”
Listeners are increasingly choosing and curating, not simply consuming.
This shift marks the transition from a streaming economy built around access to one built around participation and community.
For a deeper exploration of this shift, see:
👉 The Superfan Era: Why Music Streaming Is No Longer Just About Plays
The second major shift concerns economics.
Streaming created a global distribution engine, but revenue models are now evolving beyond traditional subscription royalties.
As Jordan Pettinato explained:
“Streaming alone is insufficient for independent artists.”
That reality is driving the development of new monetisation layers across music platforms. These include:
SoundCloud summarises this philosophy succinctly:
“Get heard, get fans, get paid.”
In this model, streaming becomes the foundation, while fandom drives revenue expansion.
At the same time, music is beginning to move beyond traditional streaming platforms entirely. Gaming environments, wellness applications, children’s platforms and niche cultural services are emerging as new contexts where music can generate value.
These ecosystems create entirely new opportunities for artists, platforms and developers to build sustainable music experiences.
You can explore this shift in more detail here:
👉 Beyond DSPs: New Monetisation Models for Music Streaming
As the streaming ecosystem evolves, so do its challenges.
Artificial streaming manipulation and AI-generated content are raising new concerns about fairness, transparency and the distribution of royalties.
Brian Zisook highlighted the scale of the problem:
“There are billions — with a B — in royalties not going to the right people.”
Streaming fraud can take many forms, from bot-generated plays to large-scale uploads of automated content designed to exploit royalty pools.
At the same time, the rise of generative AI is introducing new questions about licensing, attribution and monetisation eligibility.
Jordan Pettinato noted that the treatment of AI content is likely to evolve rapidly:
“The way AI content is treated will dramatically change.”
These developments highlight the growing importance of infrastructure within the music ecosystem.
Rights management, metadata systems, fingerprinting technologies and automated detection tools are becoming essential to maintaining trust in the streaming economy.
A deeper look at these issues is explored here:
👉 Fraud, AI and Fairness in Music Streaming: Protecting the Ecosystem
The fourth shift concerns where music experiences are happening.
Streaming services remain central to music consumption, but music is increasingly being embedded into other digital ecosystems.
Gaming is one of the most discussed opportunities.
Historically, music’s role in gaming has largely been limited to sync licensing. But modern gaming environments are social platforms where players build identities, communities and shared experiences.
As Con Raso noted:
“If you move music into the social platform of the gaming experience, it provides real opportunity.”
Music could evolve from background soundtrack to interactive participation within these environments.
Beyond gaming, music is also expanding into areas such as:
Many of these opportunities have been discussed for years, but they remain significantly underdeveloped compared to their potential.
As streaming infrastructure matures, these adjacent ecosystems may play a much larger role in the future of music monetisation.
You can read more about these emerging verticals here:
👉 Music in Gaming, Health and Niche Platforms: Opportunities Beyond Streaming
Across all of these shifts — engagement, monetisation, ecosystem integrity and new digital environments — one theme remains constant.
The next phase of music streaming will depend heavily on technology infrastructure.
Platforms will need systems capable of managing:
The first decade of streaming democratised access to music.
The next decade will focus on democratising participation, monetisation and creative interaction.
As companies across telecom, gaming, media and emerging digital platforms explore new music experiences, the infrastructure that powers those experiences will become increasingly important.
That infrastructure layer — often operating quietly behind the scenes by companies like Tuned Global — will shape how music continues to evolve in the superfan era.