Radio Still Tops In Canada For Music Discovery

While there’s considerable buzz around streaming music platforms and the future of music worldwide, in Canada, at least, radio still holds sway over the ears of internet users.

eMarketer reports 65% of respondents to an April 2016 Nielsen survey said they discovered music via the radio.

And while it might be tempting to think that the biggest numbers come from streaming, digital or satellite radio, that’s simply not the case: 52% of internet users said they discovered music on traditional AM/FM over-the-air stations, vs. 21% discovering via those same stations’ websites and 9% via satellite radio. Word-of-mouth led a significant chunk of users to new music, as well. Forty percent said friends or relatives turned them onto new sounds. Compare that to the 21% who said digital audio or video streaming sites or apps did the same, and it’s clear that, when it comes to discovering new music, internet users in Canada still turn to traditional sources.

But it may be that internet users are simply finding new music via the radio, and then listening somewhere else. Only 19% of users surveyed said they listened to music on the radio, both in 2015 and in 2016, whereas 42% are listening to music via a desktop or laptop in 2016. Home stereo usage is also slightly down, from 16% to 14% this year. eMarketer estimates that adults in Canada will spend about an hour and a half listening to radio per day, excluding digital radio. According to eMarketer forecasts, nearly 90% of adults in Canada listen to radio on a monthly basis.