Metrics & Research

Streaming continues to supplant music sales: Nielsen mid-year report

Posted on by Brad Hill

Nielsen Soundscan’s annual mid-year report, issued each June, shows the first half of 2014 continuing a definitive consumer migration from purchasing albums to streaming songs. The main takeaway from Nielsen’s mid-year report is that the trend toward streaming appears to be accelerating. In January, Nielsen’s full-year report of 2013 indicated 32% growth in streaming compared to 2012. In 2014, the year-over-year pace is +42% rise in streaming at the year’s midpoint. Continue Reading →

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Nielsen explores new audience segments

Posted on by Brad Hill

Nielsen Audio released a new study, the Audience Demand Landscape, during its Consumer 360 conference this week. The purpose is to dig beneath standard demographics to reveal adoption and usage characteristics of audio consumers. The result is a slate of newly-defined audience segments that relate less to inborn characteristics, and more to media-use characteristics. Continue Reading →

RAIN Poll results: Would you pay for a YouTube music service?

Posted on by Brad Hill

In our latest RAIN Poll, we surveyed readers with a single Yes-or-No question: Would you pay for a YouTube music service? Such a service is on the way, reportedly later this summer, offering ad-free listening/watching on some kind of YouTube-ish platform. The result of our informal poll was definite: NO. Eighty-three percent or respondents declared a negative vote on this question; 17% said they would pay. Click through to read selected comments. Continue Reading →

RAIN Poll: Would you pay for a YouTube music service?

Posted on by Brad Hill

Would you pay for a YouTube music service? That’s a choice YouTube users will have by the end of the summer, according to recent reports.

It’s an unusual value proposition, because YouTube is already the most popular music-listening (and watching) platform in the world, with over a billion users. We don’t know many details about the new subscription service Google will roll out for YouTube, but we know it will be ad-free.

Vote your choice, and leave a comment! Selected comments will be published with poll results. Continue Reading →

Edison Research releases “Share of Ear” study: AM/FM at 52% of all listening sources

Posted on by Brad Hill

Edison Research has released a summary of what it characterizes as a “groundbreaking” study of what American adults and teens listen to. Called Share of Ear, it is a new research franchise for Edison, which earlier this year released the 22nd edition of its annual The Infinite Dial study.

All told, the study reveals that Americans listen to just over four hours of audio per day. AM/FM radio accounts for 52.1% of those four hours each day. Internet music listening gets 11.6% of the “Ear.” Owned music, which represents non-streamed and non-broadcast listening, takes 20.3% of listening in the study. Continue Reading →

Public Radio listeners are digitally aware, averse to commercials, and social

Posted on by Brad Hill

Edison Research has spun out a new segment of The Infinite Dial 2014 survey, co-produced with Triton Digital. The Infinite Dial main report was issued on March 5, and deep dives have been released periodically since then, revealing details of certain demographics and consumer segments. This week, Edison put up some interesting insights about Public Radio P1’s (frequent listeners). Continue Reading →