Agencies report YouTube Music is making claims of massive audiences to their ad-supported audio service. The word ‘billions’ gets thrown around a lot. It is unclear the metric or countries represented in these claims.
Let’s verify these hyperbolic pitches.
Thie week's Cumulus/Westwood One Audio Blog highlights Edison Research’s “Share of Ear” which reveals YouTube Music’s ad-supported audiences are exceptionally small. YouTube Music’s tiny 1% ad-supported audience share is dwarfed by AM/FM radio (66%), podcasts (20%), Spotify (5%), and Pandora (4%).
Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study is the authoritative examination of time spent with audio in America. Edison Research surveys 4,000 Americans annually to measure daily reach and time spent for all forms of audio.
Here are the key findings from Edison’s Q2 2025 “Share of Ear” report:
- YouTube Music’s fantastical audience claims far exceed audience reality
- Marketers and media agencies significantly overestimate audience shares to Pandora/Spotify and massively underestimate AM/FM radio audiences
- To reach political segments with audio, all roads lead to AM/FM radio
- Adding AM/FM radio streaming to over-the-air AM/FM radio campaigns generates incremental reach and amplified frequency; One-third of those who stream AM/FM radio only listen to the stream
- You cannot check the box of an audio media plan that only contains digital audio, you’ll miss 70% of America
- To reach consumers on the path to purchase, look no further than AM/FM radio; With an 85% in-car share, AM/FM radio is the “queen of the road”
- AM/FM radio (66%) and podcasts (20%) lead ad-supported audio
An electron microscope is needed to observe YouTube Music audience shares.
AM/FM radio leads across all demographics.
Marketers and media agencies significantly overestimate audience shares to Pandora/Spotify and massively underestimate AM/FM radio audiences
In an August 2025 study, Advertiser Perceptions asked 302 media agencies and marketers for the perceived audience shares of Spotify, Pandora, and AM/FM radio. The perceived audience shares of Pandora/Spotify (41%) are much greater than AM/FM radio (26%).