Spotify survey: Free tier adds incremental reach to radio audience for advertisers

Spotify has once again collaborated with market research firm TNS for The New Audio report for 2017. The survey of nearly 9,000 people in 10 major U.S. markets point to Spotify’s ad-supported tier as a complement to radio advertising. The infographic found some amount of overlap where listeners are tuning into both broadcast radio and Spotify, but the streaming service added incremental reach across all stations in all markets surveyed. The largest incremental reach happened in San Francisco, Atlanta, and Boston.

The survey showed some demographic and behavior differences between the audiences for radio and Spotify’s free tier. The gender balance was close to even for both channels. Among the 18-24 year-olds, 25% listen to free Spotify and 35% said they listen to radio. The rates are 31% and 33% for Spotify and radio, respectively, in the 25-34 age bracket, and are 29% and 23% for the 35-44 age group.

In terms of listening behavior, radio use peaks in the morning, with a second swell at the end of the work day. Spotify listening was steadier through the day, with heavier use in the evening hours.