Music Discovery still dominated by Radio. [INSIGHT]
July 15, 2012
Radio is still the dominant way people discover music (48%) – followed by tips from friends/relatives (10%), and YouTube (7%), but more teens listen to music through YouTube than through any other source (64%) — followed by radio (56%) and iTunes (53% ) and CDs (50%) – according to results from a comprehensive, in-depth Nielsen study of consumer interaction with music in the United States, the Music 360. The new Nielsen report offers insights on all aspects of music consumption including listening and purchasing behaviors; music discovery; live events; the use of social networking and mobile music apps; as well as how the economy is affecting music sales.
“The accessibility of music has seen tremendous expansion and diversification,” said David Bakula, SVP Client Development, Nielsen. “While younger listeners opt for technologically advanced methods , traditional methods of discovery like radio and word-of-mouth continue to be strong drivers. With so many ways to purchase, consume and discover great new music, it’s no wonder that the consumer continues to access and enjoy music in greater numbers.”
The following is a small sampling of insights included in the Music 360 report:
Radio is still the dominant way people discover music
48% discover music most often through the radio
10% discover music most often through friends/relatives
7% discover music most often through YouTube
More teens listen to music through YouTube than through any other source
64% of teens listen to music through YouTube
56% of teens listen to music on the radio
53% of teens listen to music through iTunes
50% of teens listen to music on CD
Positive recommendations from a friend are most likely to influence purchase decisions
54% are more likely to make a purchase based off a positive recommendation from a friend
25% are more likely to make a purchase based off a music blog/chat rooms
12% are more likely to make a purchase based off an endorsement from a brand
8% of all respondents share music on social networking sites, while 6% upload music.
Music player apps are most prevalent, followed by radio and music store apps
54% have music player apps on their smartphones
47% have radio apps on their smartphones
26% have music store apps on their smartphones
Males purchase rock music most often, while females prefer top 40
38% of males purchase rock most often
15% of females (compared to 9% of males) purchase top 40 most often
Digital music is seen as a slightly better value than a physical CD
63% of purchasers identified digital albums as a very or fairly good value
61% identified digital tracks as a very or fairly good value
55% identified physical CDs as a very or fairly good value
Younger consumers who do buy digital tracks, are more likely to purchase new music immediately after its release
33% of teens purchased a digital track within one week of release
21% of persons 18+ purchased a digital track within one week of release
36% of teens have bought a CD in the last year; 51% of teens have purchased some kind of music download
18-24 year olds are most likely to attend a music event (among those who attend any type of live event)
7% attending once a week or more
30% attending once a month
Although 18-24 year olds attend more live events, teens are more likely to purchase T-shirts and posters while there.
54% (compared to 46% of 18-24 year olds) of teen attendees purchase concert tees
14% (compared to 7% of 18-24 year olds) of teen attendees purchase concert posters
Listeners enjoy hearing movie soundtracks over music related TV shows or video games
42% enjoy hearing music via music related TV show
59% enjoy hearing music via movie soundtracks
28% enjoy hearing music via music related video games
Older consumers have decreased their spending the most during the current economy
41% of respondents 55+ reduced their spending to a large degree
39% of respondents 45-54 reduced their spending to a large degree
Only 28% of respondents age 25-34 reduced their spending to a large degree
Data for Music 360 were collected via 3,000 online consumer surveys using Nielsen’s proprietary, high-quality ePanel in the United States.
For more information at http://www.nielsen.com
