Report: Live radio tops Australia’s Share of Audio, but streaming is posting growth

Commercial Radio Australia and GfK have released their Share of Audio 2018 report, covering insights into different types of audio consumption. The report shares data from audio diaries of Australian listeners, with statistics for radio, podcasts, and streaming audio. The streaming figures include the free and paid tiers for Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Deezer, Google Play Music, Amazon Music, Soundcloud, and more.

Live Australian radio has a 62.3% share of audio, by far the largest portion for any audio source. Streaming audio came second with a 15.3% share. Podcasts had a 3.8% share and online music videos had a share of 3.4%.

Within the streaming total, paid listening had a share of 10.4% compared with 4.8% for ad-supported listening. More than two-thirds (68%) of all Australian streaming listening is paid.

A comparison of the 2018 and 2017 figures in Australia’s metro areas showed how listening habits are shifting. Live radio’s share of audio declined from 65.3%, while both streaming sources grew their shares. Paid streaming rose from 7.1% while ad-supported edged up from 3.9%. The share for owned music libraries posted one of the most notable declines, falling from 12.6% in 2017 to 8.3% in 2018.

Spotify dominates streaming in Australia, and has been especially popular for younger listeners. The platform’s subscribers represent the largest share of listening by service at 49%, while ad-supported listeners secured 26%. The bulk of Spotify listeners fall within the 10-17 and 18-24 age groups. The youngest demographic posted a 32.6% share of listening for Spotify, while 18-24 had a 33.1% share. Among the 18-24 bracket, 84% of Spotify streaming is by paid subscribers. Spotify’s popularity takes a large drop to a 13.4% share of listening in the 25-39 age group, then down again to 6.9% for ages 40-54. In all age brackets except the very youngest and very oldest, paid listening was responsible for a larger share of Spotify listening.

The daily reach for most audio sources was even higher. Live Australian radio had a 66.4% reach, again followed by streaming with 21.3%. Podcasts and online music videos remained in close contest with 6.8% and 6.7% shares, respectively. Daily time spent with live Australian radio totaled 2 hours, 5 minutes. Streaming’s daily time spent reached 30 minutes.

Spotify again topped the daily reach for streaming services at 15.8%. Paid listeners’ daily reach was 9.5% and ad-supported was 6.6%. Apple Music had a daily reach of just 2.9%.

The daily reach comparisons between 2017 and 2018 further emphasized the changes in favor of digital listening. Live Australian radio still has a notable lead, but its reach fell from 68.4%. Owned music saw its reach decline from 18.9% to 14.5%. On the other hand, both streaming sources saw increases in daily reach. Ad-supported streaming rose from 6.2% to 8%, while paid streaming jumped from 9.6% to 14.5%.