Alice Dunn, marketing executive at Kantar Media, looks at people who use music-streaming websites (Spotify in particular) and why they're an interesting and lucrative target for marketers...

Illegal downloading and sharing of music online has long been a problem for the music industry in the UK.

However, the increasing availability and popularity of music streaming services such as Spotify have gone some way to reduce illegal downloading and thereby changing the way we consume music.

For marketers this is important because of the amount of advertising these music streaming sites carry, meaning there is the potential to efficiently reach a great deal of people.

Insight from Kantar Media TGI's Clickstream study reveals that 9.3 million British adults, aged 15+, listen to music streaming services online. Many of these consumers will not pay subscription fees (at the start of 2012, paying users of Spotify numbered three million across the world), meaning that they will experience the full force of the advertising on these sites. Not only that, they will also be accustomed to advertising interrupting their listening so may well be a receptive group.

Matching up with their interests in music, these music-streamers are 34% more likely than the average British adult to buy products from companies who sponsor music events.

They also like to think they are ahead of the curve when it comes to new technology - they are more likely to be the first among their friends to know what's going and on and 31% more likely to buy products before their peers.

Data from TGI Clickstream reveals that visitors to music streaming websites are relatively well-off: one third of this group have a household income of at least £34,000 (compared to £32,000 for the average internet user).

The demographics of this group are fairly young, with life events they are most likely to have experienced in the last 12 months including moving out of the parental home, starting their first job and moving in with a partner.

These things tend to indicate fewer responsibilities, meaning a potentially larger disposable income, making them a lucrative target for online marketers.

Looking at Spotify-listeners in particular, they seem to take a keen interest in financial matters. They are 22% more likely than the average British adult to read the financial pages of their newspaper and 24% more likely to be interested in financial services advertising. Not only do they have financial know-how, they also like to spend: they are 22% more likely to use a credit card to buy the sort of things they could not normally afford.

Also making music-streamers an attractive group for marketers is their positive and receptive attitude towards online advertising. They are 69% more likely than the average British adult to find online ads more relevant than other types of advertising.

They are significantly more likely to find banner ads and pop up ads helpful in finding interesting things online. Fittingly for music streaming websites like Spotify, these listeners are 56% more likely to pay greater attention to online video ads - all of which will be welcome news for the canny marketer.

Music-streamers are not only reachable online, they are true "media-multitaskers". They are 34% more likely than the average British adult to be among the heaviest 20% of consumers of cinema. They are also likely to consume other types of media while surfing the net - they are 30% more likely to listen to the radio when browsing.

Although not heavy consumers of TV, Spotify-listeners are 40% more likely to specially choose to watch technology programmes. Given their propensity to consume an array of different types of media, campaigns spanning both on and offline media could be an efficient way to reach these consumers.