Research: AM, FM Lag On Mobile Devices

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Edison Research's nationally-representative sample shows that the top form of audio consumed on mobile devices is 'owned music' at 50% of users' time.

Looking at the other half of mobile consumption, one can see that by far the largest amount of time goes to a single app -- Pandora. Two-fifths of the non-owned half of the mobile pie goes to the colossus from Oakland.

Other Internet 'pureplays' (such as Spotify, iTunes radio, etc) gets 14% of the total, and listening to AM/FM content on a mobile device gets 7%, just a tad higher than podcasts.

"Many thousands of American AM and FM radio stations have their content available on mobile devices, either on a station app or an aggregator like TuneIn, iHeart or Radio.com," wrote Rosin. "There is also listening on the new NextRadio app. Radio stations spend billions in paid-equivalent value promoting these apps. And yet, all rolled into one they are getting one-third the listening that Pandora is seeing, and one-fifth of the combined pureplay listening."

Rosin concluded that "there are at least two factors driving this outcome: Technology and Content. Each plays a role in the outcome we are seeing in the mobile space."

Details on Edison's Share of Ear studies, including methodology statement, can be found on the Edison website www.edisonresearch.com.