LGBTQ Consumers are Trendsetters in the Music Industry

LGBTQ consumers are no longer considered to be part of a fringe demographic, and the music industry recognizes their purchasing power is key to defining how an artist is marketed, a new report shows.

Data collected by Luminate, Billboard, and Queer Capita in their ‘Power of LGBTQ+ Music’ report focuses on the influence, success, and importance the queer community has on the music industry’s visibility and representation. Queer audiences shape and create trends that become on-trend for everyone.

Data has shown that queer consumers are cultural trendsetters. LGBTQ consumers were early adopters of the internet, social media, and mobile phone technology.

Platforms like TikTok and queer culture media like RuPaul’s Drag Race are helping propel music tracks to streaming success by exposing listeners. LGBTQ listeners are likely to discover new music through video clips, websites, and apps. They are more likely to be engaged in artist-created content available on Spotify and YouTube.

“For decades, LGBTQ+ artists have made groundbreaking contributions to music, and their music videos have provided the community with increased visibility and representation,” says Laura Vanison, VEVO senior director of consumer & artist insights. “These artists are exemplary leaders with unparalleled cultural influence, embedded in the cultural zeitgeist, with reach spanning beyond the LGBTQ+ community.”

As LGBTQ consumers gain a stronger foothold in the music market, queer artists are also receiving more exposure.

Although LGBTQ listeners may create “buzz” around an artist, many of the top queer artists have a fanbase that consists of audiences who are not LGBTQ themselves.

New and established artists and bands attract LGBTQ fans, with well-known artists like the band Queen, and Elton John continuing to outperform modern artists like Lil Nas X, and Tyler the Creator. Lil Nas is currently the most popular queer artist, with Halsey, Frank Ocean, Miley Cyrus, and Queen also breaking 1 billion in streams in 2021.

LGBTQ listeners are propelling artists in a variety of genres into current consciousness. Out rappers are becoming increasingly visible; LGBTQ-identifying women in R&B are better represented, and LGBTQ representation in the Latin music sector is helping build mainstream visibility in festival lineups, popular streaming, and audience popularity.

Out-and-proud artists of color like Janelle Monáe and Kehlani are building their audience base and enjoying support from the queer community, along with a strong base of Gen Z music fans who, as perhaps the most diverse demographic, want to see artists that reflect the world around them.

Defying stereotypes, the LGBTQ consumer may be attracted to an artist’s activism, but overall preferences are diverse and defy definition. LGBTQ people tend to care more about the values expressed by the artists they follow online.

Creatives that support social causes, and express opinions that are meaningful to a community that regularly deals with marginalization and discrimination are likely successful within and outside the boundaries of the LGBTQ demographic.

Those who represent a change for good resonate with LGBTQ audiences of all ages. Matt Yazge, vice president and head of research at Luminate, says “If there’s one positive thing we’ve seen over the past decade, it’s the resilience and strength of our LGBTQ+ community and the ability of highly visible queer individuals to change hearts and minds by telling their stories. This couldn’t be more true than it is in music.”