Thursday, March 11
THE INFINITE DIAL 2021 SPECIAL
The annual benchmark study of American listening,
released today by Edison Research and Triton Digital
Pandora is more recognized, but Spotify is more used
In a peculiar perception vs. reality quirk, more Americans recognize the Pandora name than any other online audio brand, but Spotify is the service used more often. Click through for graphic illustrations. Also — how does smart-speaker ownership affect which audio service Americans listen to?
While listening trends are changeable on the whole, American in-car listening routines are decidedly un-modern. AM/FM radio, owned music files, and CDs are the most-used sources. Online streaming and podcasts are making slow gains, hampered by an 80% lack of in-dash entertainment systems in the American car fleet.
Podcasting shows continued growth … and still plenty of upside
The “early innings” meme expressed by many leaders of podcast publishing and advertising appears proven in the 2021 edition of The Infinite Dial 2021. Weekly podcast listening is up year-over-year … but with a long way to grow.
Online audio listening stabilizes; about two-thirds of Americans are in
After 19 years of eager growth, listening to online audio among Americans has settled for three years at about two-thirds of the 12+ population. To be precise, 68% in the just-released Infinite Dial 2021. The number skews to younger ages.
One-third of Americans own a smart speaker; higher for WFH; multiples increase
In today’s The Infinite Dial 2021, smart speakers received a share of attention. A third of Americans own at least one smart speaker. Perhaps unsurprisingly, survey respondents who work at home registered a greater percentage of ownership. Also, multiple-speaker ownership is steadily growing.