Report: Smart Speakers To Drive Music Consumption

Smart speakers are poised to kick-start the next stage of the music streaming revolution, attracting more casual listeners into subscription services.

A new Bridge Ratings report reveals how smart speaker technology is driving the next wave of music consumption, fueling further growth in streaming and subscriptions while also establishing a new e-commerce platform for sales of physical product.

Some initial findings:

• Music is the most popular use for smart speakers, with users listening to more audio than they did before purchasing one of these devices.
• 34% of Echo and Homeowners spend more than four hours a day listening to music, compared to 24% of the general population.
• 48% of smart speaker owners have a premium subscription to a music-streaming service.
• 39% of smart speaker owners say time listening to the device is replacing time spent listening to AM/FM stations – encouraging a shift away from traditional radio.

Smart speakers may fuel more casual interaction with music – with generic requests to play music creating greater dependence on the personalization algorithms of speakers’ assistants.