Digital Audio Saw Fastest Growth Rate In Consumer Spending Last Year.

The lure and legacy of turning on AM/FM and hearing music for free appear to be holding strong. PQ Media says although consumers around the globe reached into their pockets and spent $2.4 trillion on media content and technology last year, the vertical they spent the least in was radio. The total spent was still sizable, however. PQ says consumes spent $33.8 billion worldwide in 2025 on satellite radio and streaming music subscriptions, as well as devices for listening to radio — such as automotive receivers and in-home audio systems.

Audio may rank last in spending, but the growth of podcasts and ad-free music streaming are also helping to give the sector a boost. PQ reports digital audio streaming and satellite radio posted the fastest growth in subscription numbers last year, when both were up 13.4% year-over-year.

PQ says consumers around the globe spent slightly more on hardware ($1.3 trillion) than content ($1.1 trillion) last year. Overall, the pace of spending was also slower than in 2024. It says that has less to do with economics, and is more a result of the lack of major international sporting events that typically drive spending. Analysts expect that will be different this year, with both the World Cup and Winter Olympics, explaining consumers tend to increase spending on video content and devices during these periods.

The U.S. remained the largest consumer media market in the world with total spending of $553.06 billion in 2025. Global consumers spent an average of $414.23 on all media content and tech in 2025, a 2.4% gain over 2024, of which $314.93 was spent on digital media and $99.30 on traditional media, according to PQ. But it says consumer spending on media is expected to decelerate through 2030, as numerous media categories become obsolete, such as CDs and CD players, and music downloads and MP3 players.

Yet many digital tech categories will post declining growth rates in the forecast period because they are reaching penetration saturation, including digital audio receivers, tablets, smartphones, laptops, and PCs, among others. Meanwhile, many traditional media categories are posting growth, such as physical records, due to screen fatigue.

PQ says several unknowns exist, including tariff wars, rising inflation and geopolitical tensions and the supply chain interruptions following the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. And it says there are indications of consumers trimming media budgets further if inflation continues to rise.

“Since the Iran War began, consumer confidence indicators have fallen to their lowest level in decades, even surpassing the chaotic years of the Great Recession,” said PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn. “The Iran War and tariffs are impacting both developed and emerging markets, particularly relating to electronically delivered content and the devices that are used to upload this content.”

Data shows that the share of discretionary spending allocated for media content and technology peaked at 3% in 2016, but has fallen annually since, except during the 2020-2021 pandemic when consumers were stuck at home. In 2025, the share dropped to 2.4%, the lowest share since 1998. PQ believes the steady drop in media spending as a share of discretionary spend is attributable to the lack of groundbreaking new digital content or device launches that, historically, were drivers of consumer spending on media.

PQ Media’s 13th annual edition of the Global Consumer Spending on Media Forecast 2026-2030 also shows global consumers invested 4% more on digital media last year, with the typical consumer spending spent $314.93 on digital media content and devices. But spending on traditional media fell 0.7%, with the average consumer spending $99.30 on traditional media devices and content.