STUDY: Clear Channel/MediaVest examines audio platform use

Press notification of a newly-released study conducted jointly by Clear Channel and MediaVest is making the rounds this morning. It contains a summary of how, why, and where consumers use various audio channels.

Unsurprisingly for a Clear Channel presentation, the reach of broadcast radio is described categorically: “Broadcast radio is the most popular audio platform.” Survey results explain why radio listeners are attached to the medium: “Listeners choose broadcast radio to stay connected to ‘the world’: Top drivers for radio usage are its accessibility, timely news, traffic, weather, engagement with radio personalities and discovering new music.” Methodology and survey questions are not disclosed in the initial press release.

The gist of the study’s summary is that people move among audio platforms to enjoy platform-specific benefits. Obvious though that might seem, the study puts numbers against consumption. One interesting metric is that 41 percent of survey respondents are willing to hear audio advertisements in exchange for free listening. And the most popular venue for listening? The car.

Those last two data points would seem to point directly at Pandora, the market-leading Internet radio platform, which derives 80 percent of its revenue from ads, and which has established an extensive presence in cars. Yet Pandora specifically, and Internet radio generally, appear to be missing from the measured listening platforms cited in the report summary: “Personal music collections (CDs, iTunes downloads), broadcast radio, streaming AM/FM radio, custom online playlists, satellite radio, online music videos and digital music channels on TV.” (The reference to “custom online playlists” might mean on-demand services like Spotify and Rdio, but does not describe the Pandora listening model.) A request for clarification from Clear Channel was not immediately returned established that Pandora was part of the study.