Spotify hosted a Canada Audio Day event featuring data about listenership in the country. The survey of almost 8,000 Canadians, conducted in collaboration with Kantar, explored the how radio and Spotify’s free tier intersect in six of the country’s major markets.
The ad-supported streaming option added significant incremental reach over radio stations in all six regions. Montreal had the highest with a 22.5% average across ages 18-49, while Toronto posted 18.1% and Vancouver reported 17.4%.
Spotify Free’s audience trends younger than radio’s. More than half (51%) of Spotify Free listeners are Generation Z or Millennials, compared with 38% for radio.
The streaming option also edged out radio in terms of reaction to advertisements. Among Spotify Free listeners, 27% said they pay more attention to ads on Spotify than on the radio. Almost a quarter (24%) said the pay more attention to Spotify ads than they do to other digital platform ads.
Spotify also used the event to highlight some of its standout advertising deals in Canada so far this year. McDonald’s sponsored its Discover Weekly playlist in July, and Columbia Pictures launched a global takeover of Spotify’s TV & Movies hub this summer in support of Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood.