Study: Radio's Biggest Music Consumers Revealed

A new Radio Format study conducted by The Media  Audit reveals that among the top twenty highest reaching radio formats, Dance CHR listeners are the biggest consumers of CD's and digital music downloads. According to the study, 42.8% of the format's weekly listeners frequently purchase CD's or download digital music.  Among all U.S. consumers, 27.7% frequently purchase CD's or download digital music. The figure represents more than 41 million consumers across The Media Audit's 81 measured markets.

Contemporary Hits Radio (CHR) ranked second in the study, with 42.4% of the format's weekly listeners who frequently purchase CD's or download digital music, followed by listeners of Rhythm & Blues-Urban (39.2%), Hot Adult Contemporary (38.3%), and Rock (36.4%). Frequent purchasers are defined as having purchased CD's or downloaded digital music within the past four weeks.

Among those who frequently purchase CD's and downloaded music, 49% are female, while 51% are male. Furthermore, 46.6% are between the ages of 25 and 44 and 67% are between the ages of 18 and 44 years. The same study reveals that frequent purchasers of CD's and downloaded music are 15% more likely to have a college degree and earn an average of $76,739 in household income. The figure is significantly higher when compared to the average household income of $64,316 for all U.S. adults.

Rounding out the top ten radio formats for consumers of CD's and digital downloads are listeners of Urban Adult Contemporary format, with 34.1% who frequently make purchases, followed by Sports (33.2%), Public Radio (32.7%), Classic Rock (31.5%) and Adult Contemporary (30.4%).

The Media Audit's National Radio Format Report measures more than sixty different radio formats, including satellite radio listening.