Facebook timeline causing massive dropoff in traffic to artist pages

(Image: Mashable)

Since Facebook's mandatory switch to Timeline at the end of March, artist profiles on the social network have seen a steep drop in traffic. Via Digital Music News:

“We saw marked declines heading into Facebook's official switch to Timeline. But it now looks like Timeline is eviscerating the Facebook artist app, or at best forcing it into some lowly plateau.    

Here's a look at artist app traffic for three of the largest DIY appmakers: BandPage (formerly Root Music), ReverbNation, and FanRx (formerly BandRx).  The mandatory switch to Timeline, which disabled default landing pages on artist apps, happened March 30th.

(1) BandPage (formerly RootMusic)

DAU (Daily Average User) Totals:

Peak: 1,700,000
March 25th: 640,000
April 10th: 210,000

Drop = 87.6%

(2) ReverbNation (Band Profile)

DAU (Daily Average User) Totals:

Peak: 724,000
March 25th: 389,000
April 10th: 220,000

Drop = 69.6%

(3) FanRx (formerly BandRx)

DAU (Daily Average User) Totals:

Peak: 580,000
March 25th: 270,000
April 10th: 40,000

Drop = 93.1%”

Some graphs to support the stats can be seen here.

Interestingly, Facebook's overall stats, at least according to Alexa, remain steady despite the change. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.