Report: Country Listeners Are More Racially Diverse

Country music listeners are trending younger and more racially diverse, according to data released by the Country Music Association.

In the past 10 years, the genre most often associated with white people has seen growth with minorities, especially Hispanic listeners, reports The Tennessean.

That’s good news for country music because the research conducted by the Futures Company for the CMA revealed that across all genres minorities listen to more music per day and spend more money on music annually than white consumers.

Sonically, the genre has expanded since the last time the CMA conducted similar research about five years ago, with the incorporation of more hip-hop, rock and pop music into the mainstream country music sound.

Karen Stump, senior director of market research for the CMA, said the association felt like 2015 was the right time to do a temperature check of country music listeners.

“As country music continues to evolve to a more mainstream listening choice for consumers today, it’s really important we continually assess how our audience is changing,” she said.

Since 2010, the country music format has seen a 25 percent increase in Hispanic listeners. That compares with 7 percent growth among white listeners, according to the research conducted through a survey of about 3,400 adults in 2015.

The Takeaways:

1. The Country Music audience continues to gain popularity across the board with the fastest growth in listeners occurring among non-whites, Hispanics, and Millennials. Since 2010, the Country Music format has seen a 25 percent increase in Hispanic listeners compared to a 7 percent growth among non-Hispanic, white listeners Nearly 7 in 10 non-white adults listen to Country Music weekly or more often, compared to white adults listening to the genre.

Listen to Country Music Weekly or More

White    Non-White       18-24    25-34    35-44    45-54
71%         71%             66%      71%       76%     71%

2. The future geography of Country Music looks polycultural as key fan base regions (South, Southeast, Southwest, and West) are on track to become the earliest majority-minority counties among the U.S. with 40 percent or more of those being non-white

3. The number of music listeners that have started enjoying Country Music in recent years (five years or less) outranks new listeners for other top genres: classic rock, pop, or rock

How Long Have You Been Listening to Country Music

                 2 years    2-5 years    Total
Country          8.5%     9%            17.5%
Pop                 6%       9%             15%
Rock               7%       6%             13%
Classic Rock     5%       3%              8%

This new adoption of Country Music is amplified among non-white, non-traditional audience which saw 19 percent listening to Country Music for two-years or less – a rate two times the U.S. average and the highest for any of today’s top music genres.

4. The Millennial audience is a big opportunity up for grabs when it comes to music engagement. Millennials, those between the ages of 18 and 35, now surpass Gen X and Boomers as the largest generation in the U.S. – 78 million.

5. Younger and diverse Country Music listeners have higher music listening behaviors compared to more traditional fans, which points to future opportunities to grow engagement with these audiences

Average Number of Hours Spent Listening to Music Daily

White    Non-White    18-24          25-34         35-44        45-64
4hrs:9m    5hrs:9m    5hrs:31m   4hrs:7m  4hrs:11m   3hrs:3m

Compared to other generations of listeners, emerging Millennials spend approximately 63 minutes more per day listening to music. When it comes to non-whites, the connection that music has to their lifestyle is reflected in a higher daily time spent listening to music – approximately 60 minutes more per day than total listeners.

6. The core appeal of Country Music remains strong across shifting segments as well as those more established. Its authenticity and relatability helps listeners from all segments connect to their emotional side – all three characteristics that listeners consistently rank as the top three appealing aspects of Country Music.

7. Only 50 percent of Country Music fans prefer to stick to one genre while listening to music.  These new, powerful consumer segments have ushered in the “big blend” era, which is impacting how they consume media and music. Previously more segregated among generations and by genre, the up-and-coming Country Music audience holds a core belief that disregards labels and boundaries. Country Music’s expansion has likely benefited from this “blending of boundaries,” which has led to discovery of new music and artists quicker and easier than ever.

8. The injection of new Country Music fans is increasing the reach of the genre and will continue to do so in the future.  This new infusion of reach should not be taken for granted as: “more listeners with the same behaviors as we have seen in the past.”

New generational beliefs and cultural values will make it imperative that our genre continue to grow in understanding these new Country Music consumers and deliver music experiences and engagement opportunities that are true to their core beliefs and values – by doing so we can help to ensure their growth and sustained future as Country Music fans.