Study: Country Music Fans Spend More On Music

New CMA research has shown that Country Music fans, on average, spend more on music than fans of any other genre.

The findings were presented Tuesday during the second of three webinars presenting CMA’s extensive consumer research initiative: “Understanding Today’s Shifting Consumer Landscape and Changing Country Music Audiences, Music Choices, and Behaviors.”

The latest webinar, titled “New Ownership Beliefs and Music Spending Profiles,” revealed more Country M usic fans spend on music than fans of other genres.  Seventy-seven percent of Country Music fans had purchased music products and services in the past six to twelve months – a level higher than other genre audiences, which saw an average of 71 percent audience spending.

“This research has shown us the many ways consumer behavior patterns are shifting and changing,” said Karen Stump, CMA Senior Director of Market Research. “These latest statistics show Country Music fans are not only consuming music, but they are still spending each year on music, downloads, concerts, and more.”

Karen Stump

Country Music consumers spend an average of $392* annually; however when the demographic data within the Country Music consumer subgroups is examined, that number jumps to $472* amongst non-white listeners, who are mor e likely to spend on concerts, festivals, and digital music. Gen X Country Music fans spend an annual average of $456*.  (Note: *Self-reported by survey respondents)

Examining the consumption of these emerging fans amongst Millennial and non-white consumers, research showed that radio is still the most used medium for listening overall. Fifty-two percent of Millennials use streaming services daily to consume music, while 41 percent listen to radio daily. Forty-five percent of non-white fans use streaming services daily, and both groups utilize YouTube at a higher rate than consumers overall.

It is also important to note that seven percent of daily listeners access each and all surveyed platforms (radio, streaming services, YouTube, digital downloads, and physical CDs) daily to consume Country Music. Millenn ials and non-white fans are even more likely to be engaged with all platforms on a daily basis (11 percent and 13 percent, respectively).

In a webinar presented exclusively to CMA members May 3 (“Tomorrow’s Music Consumer and Emerging Behaviors”), research showed the Country Music audience continues to gain popularity across the board with the fastest growth in listeners occurring among non-whites, Hispanics, and Millennials.

The data reported in this summary is from CMA’s proprietary consumer study, which was conducted among 3,330 adult consumers across the U.S. during October 2015. The study was conducted by a third-party research partner, The Futures Company. CMA Research is conducted on behalf of and provided exclusive to CMA members.