It is estimated that 7.25 billion people own a smartphone capable of streaming music and video. This means that over 91% of the world’s entire population could potentially stream something right now if they have an internet connection.
This is backed up by improving and expanding internet connectivity. It is also estimated that over 60% of the world has an excellent internet connection, with some locations like Europe providing almost 100% of its population with an internet connection.
What do people stream the most?
The most popular thing to stream from a mobile remains music, often through Spotify and other music-related apps. Spotify currently allows up to 10,000 Streams, which will cater to all users easily.
And it is now a vital streaming app for podcast listeners. The best podcasts from around the world in different niches are usually available on Spotify. The Joe Rogan Podcast, one of the most listened to podcasts ever, recently switched from YouTube to Spotify, cementing its status as a podcast platform.
These types of platforms are an excellent way for producers are creators to earn royalties and revenue. But in 2022, it is not the only way for a musician to make money. They can also sell their music to be used in other places, such as movies, video games and even slot machines that are available at most reputable mobile casino sites.
Increasing video streams on mobiles
The emergence of better mobile devices and improving internet connections has seen a shift in the number of people streaming video to their mobile devices. Previously, mobiles could not stream video without issues, including slow loading speeds and lag. But due to better technologies and 4G & 5G internet connectivity, these things are rarely an issue. This has created a wave of people open to streaming their favourite shows from streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney Plus, or even just YouTube.
But it wasn’t just the technology improvements that have caused people to start streaming more video. The worldwide health events of the last two years have also played a part. In the first three months of 2019, global video streaming across platforms equated to around 164 billion hours. But during the last three months of 2020, this figure had increased by almost 65% to 240 billion hours. In the same year, Ben and Jerry released a new ice cream called Netflix and Chill’d – an astute move for the times.
New inventions to encourage mobile streaming
The rate we stream music and video from our devices is being encouraged further by new inventions that make the experience easier or more enjoyable. Some add-ons can be clipped to our smartphones to make streaming easier from any location, whether we are upright in a plane seat or lying down in bed. Simultaneously, the standard of music headphones continues to improve. These all encourage us to keep streaming from our mobile, even more than switching on the TV in some cases.
