Survey shows freemium helps to curb music piracy
A new study investigated the relationship between piracy and freemium music services. CALinnovates, an advocacy organization for tech and public policy, sponsored the survey. Continue Reading
Metrics & Research
Kantar study: U.S. radio ad spending grows, defying overall downward trend
Kantar Media collected data about U.S. ad expenditures, which posted a decline of 3.9% in the second quarter of 2015 for a total spend of $38 billion. Radio bucked that downward trend, showing gains in spot sales. Kantar notes an impact from increased ad time. Continue Reading
Nielsen 360 Report finds big online audience, but little online spending
Nielsen has released highlights for its 360 Music Report of 2015. One of the highlights of Nielsen reports are the breakdowns on music spending. For the total population, online music streaming services accounts for 7% of annual music spend, and 11% goes to digital tracks or albums. Cost was the top reason for listeners in selecting a streaming service, and it was part of the top two reasons for people to not subscribe. Finally, this year’s report found that AM/FM and satellite radio was the top discovery engine. Continue Reading
STUDY: Spotify freemium has 8.8% reach in Germany; survey compares to radio listening
A new survey from European research reveals that Spotify’s freemium plan enjoys an 8.8% reach in Germany. The study was commissioned by Spotify, specifically to bolster its advertising business in Germany. The study compared Spotify’s reach metrics with traditional radio. Continue Reading
Kurt Hanson: San Diego radio losing a valuable brand name in “Jeff & Jer”
by Kurt Hanson
Morning drive team “Jeff & Jer” are departing the San Diego airwaves. Whatever the reason, says Kurt Hanson, stations should try hard to retain personality talent — a key strength of radio in its competition with satellite and Internet radio. Continue Reading
New study: Sellers and buyers disagree on some programmatic priorities
A newly released survey from Technorati is formatted as a report card on programmatic advertising efficacy, from the viewpoint of the buy- and sell-sides. In it, there is a sharp point of disagreement over the key values of programmatic platforms. Continue Reading
Kurt Hanson: Live-copy testimonials are back on late-night TV
by Kurt Hanson
Stephen Colbert debuted as the new host of “The Late Show” on CBS last night. One of the highlights was seeing the return of live-copy testimonial advertising from the show’s host. It was hilarious, and effective. Kurt Hanson connects the creative tactic to podcasting and music streaming. Continue Reading
Nielsen Music reports worst week for downloads, but best for streams
Nielsen Music’s data for the week ending Aug. 27 was the lowest for digital song sales in seven years. Only 15.66 million songs were sold on digital platforms for the week. The top track for the period, “Locked Away” by R. City, sold only 92,000 downloads. On the other hand, that same week had the highest level of on-demand audio and video streams. Continue Reading
Report finds Pandora and Apple Music among apps with the most mobile reach
The comScore Mobile Metrix report for July 2015 included data about the top apps by reach across iOS and Android devices in the U.S. Pandora held the No. 7 spot with 43.9% reach. Apple Music snuck into the No. 14 with 24.1% reach. Continue Reading
New infographic shows low AM/FM listening share for teens
The Music Business Association released a new infographic with data about broadcast radio listenership by age. The younger demographics posted low numbers for this audio format. Ages 15-19 had just 24% share, while 20-24 was 33%. Ages 50 and older had a solid 61%. These results – young people aren’t that into traditional radio – echo what we’ve seen in other recent research. Continue Reading
Survey shares insights on European digital music use and cross-border copyrights
Subscription access to entertainment is becoming more prevalent, but different international markets face different challenges in executing that vision. For instance, people in the EU bloc may have difficulties accessing their digital services when traveling across country borders. A study by the European Commission found that cross-border access to entertainment subscriptions is important for nearly one in three Europeans. The research also had some data points specifically about music listening habits in the EU. Continue Reading
Webcast listening down 2% in July: Triton Webcast Metrics
Webcast listening in June remained nearly flat from June’s numbers, according to Triton Digital’s Webcast Metrics Top 20 Ranker, released today. The aggregate of Triton’s top 20 measured clients moved two percentage points downward month-over-month. Mobile listening grew again. Continue Reading