Competition for attention is fiercer than ever, at least in beauty. Spotify thinks it can bridge the gap.
At The Catalysts, Bridget Evans, Spotify’s global head of business marketing, said fandom is the future of building community.
“The idea of fandom is certainly not anything new, but it is dominating culture right now,” Evans said in conversation with Beauty Inc editor in chief and WWD executive editor of beauty Jenny B. Fine. “When we talk about fandom, it really is different than just a community. The defining thing is that as fans or listeners, for your favorite music or podcast, it’s how you engage with and interact with your favorite artists, podcasters and creators. So we say that Spotify is made by fans, for fans.”
Described as “the opposite of doom scrolling,” fandom is indicative of Gen Z moving away from algorithm fatique, social media anxiety and mindless swiping and scrolling in search of positivity or connection.
“It can also happen through offline things, like seeing a live podcast or going to a concert together,” Evans said. “It’s a way to step away from doom scrolling. You never say you need to delete music or podcasts from your phone. It’s actually the opposite.”
Evans said Gen Z specifically is chronicling milestone moments through playlists. “We all have these vivid memories of our first car, our first kiss, our first love, our first day at college,” she said. “Gen Z consumed over 86 million minutes worth of playlists that use that word ‘first’ in them. It’s an interesting proposition for brands because Gen Z is documenting these moments and pairing them with certain songs and artists. That’s also during the time in which they’re establishing their first brand preferences, whether it’s beauty, CPG or whatever the space may be.”
For listeners of that cohort, the drivers are twofold. “They’re learning something or find value in it,” Evans said, “but they also reveal something about themselves by sharing them with their friends.” Gen Z is also sharing album drops and releases with their friends, Evans said, noting there’s been a 300 percent uptick in that in 2025.
Evans pointed to Coca-Cola and Oreo as examples of how to leverage that engagement. “They were launching Coke-flavored Oreos and Oreo-flavored Cokes and wanted to reach Gen Z. One trend we saw at the time that we were able to share with them was that Gen Z was creating a ton of playlists for their best friend and with the word ‘bestie’ in it. Coca-Cola did a takeover on Spotify in which you could answer questions about your best friend, and we were able to deliver specialized playlists brought to you by the two brands,” Evans said. “They participated in something already happening on the platform versus just pushing their message.”
Video consumption on Spotify is also up 50 percent year-over-year, with 80 percent of that consumption being driven by Gen Z, particularly in relation to podcasts. “The average [watch] time is 50 minutes a day,” Evans said. “The way we all used to get our news or watch TV shows — that’s happening through podcasts now.”
Personalization on the app has also helped retain listeners. “With thousands and millions of podcast episodes, songs and artists, we have all these signals to understand what you might like now, and also what you might love and love to discover next,” Evans said. “The more you interact with the app, the more the app has a better sense of what to serve you. It does become personal, and we’re able to fuel the ad experience in the same way.”
The most active podcast listening time is on Monday mornings between 7 and 8 a.m., Evans said, and the podcast audience is 61 percent female. This has helped fuel the continued popularity of beauty- and wellness-oriented podcasts among all demographics. “Skinny Confidential, Huberman Lab, Dr. Hyman’s podcast, Kristin Cavallari’s podcast — I could go on and on,” Evans said of what’s trending now. “It’s one of the fastest-growing categories.”
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