Report: 183M Americans Now Streaming Music

More than three fourths of the American internet-using population over the age of 13 is now streaming music. That's according to MusicWatch's audiocensus Q2 2019 report on U.S. music consumption and listening habits, shared exclusively with Billboard in advance of its publication.

MusicWatch calculated 183 million Americans over the age of 13, or 77% of the U.S. internet-using population, are now streaming. That marks a 14% increase since the same time last year. Of those users, the report estimates 125 million are using paid music streaming subscription services. And while only 68 million of those subscription streamers are personally paying, that represents a 21% increase from 56 million just six months prior.

As for which streaming services are getting use, YouTube leads with a 30% share of weekly music listening, according to the study, followed by Spotify at 24% and Pandora at 17%. Apple and Amazon's music services each account for 6%. Even though those both have seen strong subscriber growth, MusicWatch found Spotify listeners spend much more time on the platform, driving its higher share of listenership.

The report also found that the population of Americans using smart speakers is primed to hit 100 million this year, with 40% of the internet population over the age of 13 claiming to use the devices.