AM/FM radio is the top audio source in the U.S., with double the time spent listening of any other audio platform, according to the most recent quarterly Share Of Ear update from Edison Research. Broadcast radio, including over the air and online listening, captured 36% of all audio usage in all locations, among all Americans aged 13 and older. That is down one percentage point from the previous quarter.
Streaming music, including Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and similar services, came in second place at 18%. YouTube for Music/Music Videos was third at 14%, followed by podcasts, which gained one point to another new all-time high of 10% of all listening. Next was SiriusXM (8%) and owned music (listening to CDs, vinyl, owned digital files, etc.), which dropped two points to 7%. Audiobooks gained one percentage point to garner 3% of listening, tied with TV music channels.
Share Of Ear data is derived from a detailed one-day diary administered either online or via mail placement after a phone survey. The data has been continuously updated since 2014.
When Edison wraps its next two quarters of Share of Ear, it will have completed ten full years of measurement. “Audio has changed dramatically over the last ten years, and we have captured the changes along the way,” the research firm said in its latest Weekly Insights dispatch. “In 2014 when we started, just over half of Americans had a smartphone. Today well over 90% do. When we began, far more people had ‘radio sets’ in their homes or at their workplaces and of course no one had even heard of a smart speaker.”
Edison is planning to issue more insights from ten years of Share of Ear.