Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Report: Country Music Radio's Most Popular Format

New findings from both The Media Audit's National Report and National Radio Format Report suggest that country music radio listening and the station consumers listen to most often may have something to do with rising attendance at live country music concerts.

The Media Audit surveyed more than 100,000 respondents in 81 U.S. cities about what radio station they listen to most often and found that listeners are tuning into country music more often than any other music genre. According to the study, more than 8.4 million listeners across The Media Audit's survey footprint responded that they listen to a country-formatted station in their local market more than any other station in a typical week. As a result, country music represents the most popular music genre among the more than 50 genres measured by The Media Audit.

Also, attendance at live country music concerts is on the rise. According to the same study, 7.9% of respondents indicated they attended one or more country music concerts in the past year. The figure represents more than 11.6 million concert goers.  Four years ago, 7.2% of respondents had attended a live country music concert and the figure has been steadily increasing over the years.

Top markets for country music concert attendance include Nashville, Tennessee, where 15.4% of the metro area's population has attended a country music concert in the past year, tied with Columbia-Jefferson City, Missouri, (also 15.4%), followed by Peoria, Illinois (14.1%), Austin, Texas (14%), and Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina (14%).

A look at the demographic profile of the typical country music listener shows what makes this radio format a desirable advertising platform for many marketers. According to the study, those who are between the ages of 18 and 34 and who have an annual household income greater than $100,000 are 42% more likely to listen to a country music radio station in a typical week, with two-thirds of country music's total weekly audience is represented by the 18 to 49 demographic.

No comments:

Post a Comment