Report: AM-FM Radio Tops American Audio

In the latest Westwood One blog post, the Westwood One Insights team examines Edison Research’s Q1 2016 Share of Ear data to explore the continued strength of AM/FM radio and emerging audio trends.

The new report, AM/FM Radio: The Centerpiece of American Audio, has one key takeaway – AM/FM radio dominates the audio landscape with mass reach and significant time spent.

Here are the key findings from Edison Research's Q1 2016 “Share of Ear” study:

• Despite advertiser perceptions, AM/FM radio is the king of all audio. AM/FM radio’s 52% share is 9 times bigger than Pandora and 17 times bigger than Spotify.  
• Pandora stalls, Spotify grows. For the first time ever, Spotify beats Pandora among 18-24 Millennials. No wonder FMR Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett concludes, “Pandora pioneered something really interesting, really special with their free ad-based streaming music…(but now) the early adopters are moving to on-demand, and mainstream America is still in love with AM/FM radio.”
• Time spent with streaming grows at the expense of owned music, not AM/FM radio.  Americans are now renting their music versus buying. The growth of on-demand platforms like YouTube and Spotify means less time for the music people purchase.
• SirusXM’s audience to their ad-supported channels is a microscopic one share.  SiriusXM’s share of time spent to their commercial free channels is five times bigger than their ad-supported share.
• Podcasting resonates with Millennials.  Among 18-34’s, podcasting has an impressive 5 share of audio time spent.