In his analysis of the latest findings from Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study (the full study being available to subscribers only), Cumulus Media and Westwood One Audio Active Group Chief Insights Officer Pierre Bouvard looked at various aspects of audio listening among adult U.S. consumers:
(1) Among persons 18+, AM/FM leads with 40% of audio listening, streaming music services (e.g., Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Music, Apple Music, etc.; both subscription-based and ad-supported combined) have a 17% share, YouTube music videos (an oft-forgotten factor in audio listening) have a 13% share, SiriusXM has an 8% share, podcasts have a 6% share, and cable music channels have a 4% share:
Note that SiriusXM today comprises 17% of all broadcast radio (i.e., AM/FM plus satellite) listening. (That’s 8% (SiriusXM’s 6% and 2%), divided by 48% (AM/FM’s 40% plus SiriusXM’s 8%).
(2) Podcast listening among adults 18+, after several years of consistent growth, dipped very slightly from 6% to 5.9% of all audio listening:
(3) Looking at the percentage of “owned music” listening (CDs, LPs, MP3s, and on-demand music streaming services like Spotify, plus for some reason Pandora) that is represented by the truly physically-owned music (CDs, LPs, and MP3s), that share has declined from 49% five years ago to 35% today:
This data is based on a tabulation of Edison’s last four calendar quarters of “Share of Ear” interviews, spanning the period from Q3 2021 to Q2 2022.
Look for additional findings from this study later today in RAIN.