Mark Kassof shared data from a recent survey about the attitudes of teenagers toward FM radio. The 506 online surveys of respondents aged 13 to 20 revealed that only 7% listened to FM radio the most for music. Even online streams of terrestrial stations had limited reach. Just 16% of respondents said they listened to online radio station streams often, while 31% said the did so sometimes. Twenty percent hardly ever listened and 26% have never done so. Smartphone apps for AM and FM radio stations also had limited reach: 49% have never listened on those services.
Cell phones and smartphones took the top spot for this age group with 41%. MP3 players and iPods secured a quarter of these responses, and computers and PCs took 16%. Computers also clocked in as the second-most frequently used device.
Kassof said that this does not bode well for terrestrial radio, since younger listeners are likely to be key influencers of the future of music services. “That’s why greater emphasis on streaming and station apps is absolutely essential to the survival of existing radio brands,” he said.