Metrics & Research

Emerging markets (China, Russia) drive music subscription growth: MIDiA Research

Posted on by Brad Hill

Newly released research from London-based MIDiA Research shows strong growth of global music subscribers, with services in emerging markets driving the forward motion. Overall, MIDiA figures 523.9-million subscribers to music streaming platforms around the world in Q2 2021. Spotify remains the worldwide leader with 31% share of subs, but that share is down from 33% the previous year. Click for more stats and an infographic Continue Reading →

Podcast CPMs reach for new highs at year’s end: AdvertiseCast

Posted on by Brad Hill

In a very interesting set of benchmarks, podcast ad marketplace AdvertiseCast (a subsidiary of Libsyn) released its internal CPM numbers. The metrics include average cost-per-thousand podcast ad impressions for 30-second and 60-second sponsorships, as well as rates for podcasts with different numbers of listeners. Click for two-year trendlines for podcasts addressing different audience sizes. Continue Reading →

2021 U.S. music revenue, driven by streaming, on pace to set new record (RAIN projection)

Posted on by Brad Hill

The U.S. recorded music industry is projected to exceed a 48-year revenue record set in 1999, according to RAIN’s examination of reports from the RIAA. The historical revenue high point was set in 1999 at $14.6-billion in recorded music revenue. Based on a persistent trend of H2 revenue exceeding H1 revenue, we project a new high water mark driven by streaming, the most lucrative channel for music labels. Click through for details and infographics. Continue Reading →

Canadian digital audio listening surpasses radio for first time; divergence will increase (eMarketer)

Posted on by Brad Hill

Canadian listeners chose digital audio sources slightly more than radio in 2021, for the first time. This according to eMarketer. “The switch is related to a reduction in commuting,” the company notes, “which has had a direct impact on terrestrial radio consumption.” eMarketer is predicting a widening of the gap in 2022. Continue Reading →

Surge in Latino podcast listening the #1 “Top Finding” in 2021 from Edison Research

Posted on by Brad Hill

In an online presentation today, Edison Research released its Top Ten Findings of 2021, an interesting selection of key metrics from the company’s many consumer survey studies such as The Infinite Dial, Share of Ear, Podcast Consumer Tracker, and The Black Podcast Listener Report. Click through for details and infographics. Continue Reading →

Podcast advertisers in November: Familiar brands plus the Pentagon

Posted on by Brad Hill

In Magellan AI’s just-released ranking of podcast ad spending, we see the continuation of a sameness trend. Eight of the top 15 companies have ranked in the list for eight straight months. And in November there are no new brands that haven’t appeared once in the past eight months of RAIN comparisons. Click through for links and RAIN’s 8-month chart. Continue Reading →

Audio subscription revenue nearly two-thirds of total; digital audio ad revenue set to gain

Posted on by Brad Hill

Digital audio revenue is mostly derived from subscriptions, which will reach nearly two-thirds of total revenue in 2022. eMarketer projects 2022 as the yeard of greatest divergence between subscription revenue and digital audio ad revenue. Platforms included in this research include digital AM/FM, plurplay internet radio, satellite, and streaming music services. Continue Reading →

Podcast listeners listening more: Acast/Nielsen study

Posted on by Brad Hill

Podcast listeners are doubling down: Over half of them spent more time listening over the past six months than previously — that metric courtesy of research conducted by Nielsen in partnership with global podcast company Acast for this week’s Adweek in NYC. That 52% is favorable compared to the results for other audio categories. Click through for key findings. Continue Reading →