Radio Still Accounts for Almost Half of Music Listening

While streaming music has certainly taken off over the last few years, radio continues to reign as the go-to music listening format and device for US consumers, according to eMarketer.

Almost half of time spent listening to music happens on AM/FM radio, followed by owned music and then streaming platforms, like Pandora and Spotify, according to research this motnh.

In May 2016, Edison Research studied more than 8,500 US consumers ages 13 and older and how much time they spent listening to music.

Almost half (or 44%) of all time spent listening to music was spent on the AM/FM radio format, followed by listening to music participants had purchased (including CDs and digital music files) at 18%. Streaming accounted for 17% of music listening time.

Devicewise, AM/FM radio came on top again. More than 40% of music listening time was spent with traditional radio receivers. Meanwhile, 23% was spent with mobile devices and 16% with desktop and laptop PCs.

Despite the evidence that radio continues to have a hold on the largest share of the music-listening market, subscriptions to streaming music sites are growing globally. In separate April research from International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, an estimated 68 million people were music service subscribers in 2015, compared to 41 million the year prior.