News & Insights

Music: The heartbeat of every wedding

Wedding season is back and music is the star of the show—after the happy couple of course. We sat down with Spotify's own Susanah Zeffiro who gets married this summer to discover just how important music is during these special moments, and how beauty brands can be a part of the celebration.

After what seems like eons of pandemic postponement, love is finally in the air again. We're talking, of course, about wedding season.

As venues around the world reopen and global travel resumes to near-2019 levels, couples worldwide are finally preparing to say “I do" in front of their loved ones. In fact, 2022 is shaping up to be the biggest wedding year in decades.

During the wedding-planning phase, one choice looms large—what soundtrack will set the stage for this monumental event? Music, after all, is a wedding essential. It's a key element of every part of the day, from hair-and-makeup sessions in the bridal suite to the ceremony itself to the after-party.

Here's a deep dive into how couples are curating the perfect "Wedding Moment" with a little help from Spotify—as well as how advertisers can capitalize on the knot-tying trend.

Susanah Zeffiro, Senior Client Partner Beauty, and her fiancé get ready for wedding festivities with a playlist for every moment.

Wedding jams are in high demand

There are currently more than 14.8 million wedding-related, user-generated playlists worldwide on Spotify—and this type of content has skyrocketed recently. In the past year, we've seen a 620% increase in streams of the “Country Wedding" playlist, as well as a nearly 150% increase in streams of “Wedding Songs."1

Given this year's unprecedented spike in save-the-dates, it's no surprise that this type of content is on the rise. Spotify's very own Beauty Partnership Expert Susanah Zeffiro recently filled us in on how Spotify played a role in her own wedding journey: "Music played a consistent theme in my entire bridal journey—especially the playlists for the bachelorette party, bridal shower, and getting ready with my bridesmaids," she said. "It set the tone for everyone's mood and outlook."

"When ranking the elements that create my dream wedding experience, music will always be number one," Zeffiro said.

Who's listening—and how, and when?

There's a wide range of listeners interested in not only the "Wedding Moment," but beauty-focused content more generally. As Zeffiro pointed out, beauty and audio are closely intertwined. "Both empower us to express our identities, and inspire us to be our most creative selves," she noted.

When it comes to beauty listenership, here are a few recent stats that stand out:

  • 16M+ cosmetic buyers in the U.S. streamed Spotify within the last month
  • Empowering & Sensual are the top two moods they listen to on Spotify
  • 54% of streams from beauty enthusiasts happen mid-day

Digging more specifically into our wedding-focused listeners, Spotify data suggests that 30% who are engaged or getting married are in the 18-24 age range, and they're split evenly by gender. These listeners are more likely to stream Oldies, Christian, and Soul music, and the "moments" they tend to stream include Wedding, Dinner, and 2000s. They're also big fans of music that keeps them inspired and confident—like Lively, Romantic, and Easygoing playlists.

In terms of listening habits by device, desktop takes the cake, with +35% more likely to stream that way. (This is great news for advertisers, who can take advantage of a variety of ad formats that work well on desktop including Audio, Display, and Video.) Peak listening among lovebirds seems to occur most frequently on Thursday and Friday mornings.

How advertisers can reach listeners before, during, and after 'I do'

Wedding moments are about more than just the big day. There are plenty of opportunities to set the scene—smooth jazz for when the bride-to-be is trying on dresses, jams from college days blasted during bachelor party shenanigans, and even a soothing playlist for self-care in the stress-filled weeks leading up to the main event.

All of these scenarios are potential opportunities for advertisers to reach engaged listeners—and there's more than one way to do it. With Spotify's Streaming Ad Insertion, for instance, you can pop your ads into a podcast about relationships or wedding planning and cement your message with a call-to-action card. If you're a local business that provides wedding services like floral arrangements, catering, DJing, or beauty and makeup consultations, you can reach engaged listeners near you using Ad Studio, our self-serve ads manager. You can even feature your wedding-related products—morning face masks, evening cologne, etc.—on Spotify.com with a homepage takeover.

The Spotify Advertising Network, too, gives brands all the tools they need to find and engage with audiences in various life stages—for instance, "Engaged/Getting Married," "Married," or investigating other milestone moments like "In-Market House & Apartment Selling."

Ready to commit? Get started with Spotify today

With advertising on Spotify, your brand can help listeners plan an unforgettable wedding from start to finish.

In preparation for this whopper of a wedding year, we've revamped our global Wedding Season Hub as the one-stop destination for couples looking for music to explore. To further celebrate, we've partnered with celebrity wedding planner and industry legend Mindy Weiss to curate an exclusive wedding playlist. Check out our For the Record post for the full conversation with Mindy.

Interested in committing to digital audio ads? Getting started is simple. Learn more about how to launch a campaign that meets the Wedding Moment—and more—with Ad Studio.

Source:

  1. Global, first-party data collected in April 2022.

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