A new study commissioned by Meta from analytics firm Luminate positions Instagram as the music industry’s most concentrated superfan environment after YouTube, with 58% of music superfans using the platform to engage with artists and nearly one in three of its daily music engagers qualifying as a superfan.
The research, which drew on 739 randomly sampled artists, a survey of 4,041 US listeners and a quasi-experimental analysis of streaming data, also found that artists whose streaming growth is strongly correlated with Instagram engagement saw median streaming volumes grow 23% year-over-year between Q2 2024 and Q2 2025, compared with 3% for the broader artist population — though the study does not establish that Instagram activity caused that growth.
The report, which you can read in full here, found that Meta’s Activation program — which pairs labels and publishers with Instagram’s Reels ad infrastructure — independently drove off-platform streaming by roughly 10% in the week an activation launched and the four weeks after.”
“We find strong evidence that Instagram’s program is effective in driving growth of an artist’s off-platform streaming,” according to the report.
The report cited Alex Warren‘s song Ordinary as a case study. The song, released in February 2025, gained additional momentum after Instagram Activations were launched several weeks later, according to the report. Reels viewership and streaming volumes both climbed before the song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Photo credit: Luminate
The data suggests that Activation effects also sustain themselves longer than a new single release.
“We find strong evidence that Instagram’s program is effective in driving growth of an artist’s off-platform streaming.”
Luminate
Digging further into that 58% superfan figure, Luminate found that Instagram ranks second only to YouTube (83%) among social platforms for superfan music engagement.
Photo credit: Luminate
One in three daily music engagers on Instagram, or 32%, qualifies as a superfan, nearly double the 18% rate observed across the broader base of music-engaged social media users. Among Gen Z, that figure rises to 38%.
The research combined Luminate’s music consumption metrics across streaming, physical sales, and radio play with Meta’s internal engagement data. Luminate is the analytics firm behind the Billboard Charts.
Luminate defined superfans as consumers who engage with an artist in at least 5 of 13 unique ways. Those behaviors span attending live performances, purchasing physical merchandise and serving as “a primary word-of-mouth ambassador.”
Jaime Marconette, VP of Music Insights and Industry Relations at Luminate, said: “Superfans are the primary drivers of the modern music economy, and Luminate provides the standardized data necessary to measure their actual impact across the industry. Our analysis confirms that Instagram is a central environment for building these deep relationships, as it hosts a high concentration of fans willing to invest their time and money back into the artists they follow.”
“Superfans are the primary drivers of the modern music economy, and Luminate provides the standardized data necessary to measure their actual impact across the industry.”
Jaime Marconette, Luminate
The study found that compared to the average social media user, daily music engagers on Instagram attend more concerts, buy more physical music, and listen longer.
A total of 45% of Instagram’s daily music engagers attended a live music event in the past year, against 32% for the base audience.
About 21% bought vinyl in the last 12 months, nearly double the 12% figure for the broader group.
Instagram’s music engagers are also among the highest spenders across social media platforms. They spend an average of $55 a month on non-live music, versus $34 for the general audience, and $54 for TikTok music engagers. Their streaming spending is also up at $18 per month, versus $11 by average users and $16 for TikTok music engagers.
Further comparing Instagram’s music audience with TikTok’s, the study found that the two platforms drew audiences with almost similar paid streaming adoption — 71% for Instagram and 72% for TikTok.
“Partnering with Luminate on this custom study helps to explain what we have long believed to be true: Instagram is the best place to build artist careers.”
Tamara Hrivnak, Meta
While 32% of users on Instagram qualify as music superfans, only 27% fit that category on TikTok, according to the report.
Tamara Hrivnak, VP of Music & Product Partnerships at Meta, said: “Partnering with Luminate on this custom study helps to explain what we have long believed to be true: Instagram is the best place to build artist careers.”
“Beyond short-lived moments, we see that Instagram can uniquely connect artists with Superfans and the high-value music audiences that drive their careers, both in terms of off-platform streaming and beyond.”
