Edison Research’s “Share Of Ear” Q4 2021: Among Registered Voters, AM/FM Radio Dominates Ad-Supported Listening, Podcasts And AM/FM Radio Streaming Surge, And AM/FM Radio Has An 88% Share In The Car
Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study is the authoritative examination of American audio time use. Edison Research surveys 4,000 Americans to measure daily reach and time spent for all forms of audio.
The just-released Q4 2021 report provides an opportunity to study listening among key voter segments and examine ad-supported audio use by location and demographic.
Here are the key findings:
Among registered voters, AM/FM radio has a massive 75% share of ad-supported audio
Across the political spectrum, AM/FM radio is by far the leader in ad-supported audio shares. Podcast shares are nearly double among Democrats (13%) and Independents (12%) compared to Republicans (7%).
2019 vs. 2021: AM/FM radio shares are pandemic proof, podcasts surge, and Pandora collapses
Trending ad-supported audience shares from Q4 2019 to Q4 2021, AM/FM radio sees little change (79% to 76%). Podcast shares have nearly doubled (6% to 11%). Pandora’s shares are down -25% (8% to 6%). Spotify and SiriusXM’s ad-supported shares remain small and stable at a 4 share each.
AM/FM radio leads total ad-supported shares among key buying demographics while podcast shares are greater than Spotify and Pandora combined
In the car, AM/FM radio ad-supported shares have hovered in the high 80s for the last six years
The “my niece/son/nephew/daughter” story
Advertisers often tell a story that goes something like this: “My niece/son/nephew/daughter is 23 and all they do in the car is listen to Spotify.” These “sample of one” tales are not representative of what is actually happening in America.
When it comes to ad-supported audio in the car, AM/FM radio is the “queen of the road” with shares in the mid to upper 80s across every buying demographic
Looking at ad-supported audience shares in the car, even among persons 18-34, AM/FM radio’s share is a whopping 84%, 84 times larger than Spotify’s one share.
There is very little ad-supported streaming occurring in the car. Podcasts’ in-car shares range from 4% to 8% and are growing, trouncing ad-supported streaming.
Back to the 23-year-old nephew. Yes, people listen to advertising-free music in their car. People have listened to “their music” in their car for 50 years. If advertisers want to actually reach people with advertising in their vehicle, these in-car ad-supported shares from “Share of Ear” are a great media planning tool.
Over six years, the proportion of AM/FM radio listening occurring via online streaming has surged from 8% to 14%
According to Nielsen, 10% of radio listening is to the AM dial. Currently, there is more radio listening occurring via the stream (14%) than the entire AM dial. Smart advertisers should allocate 14 cents out of every dollar spent on AM/FM radio to the station stream.
AM/FM radio leads ad-supported listening on the smart speaker with a 43% share
40% of U.S. homes now own a smart speaker, which has brought AM/FM radios back into the home. AM/FM radio stations have aggressively promoted how to listen to their audio stream via smart speaker. These strong promotion efforts have paid off as AM/FM radio has a 43% share of ad-supported audio on the smart speaker.
Listening by market size varies slightly: Podcasts and Spotify slightly skew to larger markets while SiriusXM and Pandora over index in smaller markets
Examining shares by top 25, 26-100, and 100+ DMAs reveals stable shares. There are some skews worth noting:
- Spotify over indexes in the top 25 markets and under indexes beyond the 25+ markets
- Pandora is exactly the opposite, over indexing in 25+ markets and under indexing in the top 25
- SiriusXM under delivers in the top 25 DMAs
- AM/FM radio is right at the market in the top 100 and over indexes a bit in markets 100+
- Podcasts over index in the top 25 markets and significantly under index in 101+ markets
Key takeaways:
- Among registered voters, AM/FM radio has a massive 75% share of ad-supported audio
- 2019 vs. 2021: AM/FM radio shares are pandemic proof, podcasts surge, and Pandora collapses
- AM/FM radio leads total ad-supported shares among key buying demographics while podcast shares are greater than Spotify and Pandora combined
- In the car, AM/FM radio ad-supported shares have hovered in the high 80s for the last six years
- Over six years, the proportion of AM/FM radio listening occurring via online streaming has surged from 8% to 14%
- AM/FM radio leads ad-supported listening on the smart speaker with a 43% share
- Listening by market size varies slightly: Podcasts and Spotify skew to larger markets while SiriusXM and Pandora over index in smaller markets
Download the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® analysis report of Edison Research’s “Share of Ear”
Brittany Faison is the Insights Manager of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group®.
Contact the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.