Click here to download the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group® analysis report of Edison Research’s “Share of Ear.”

Click here to view a 10-minute video of the key findings.

Edison Research’s quarterly “Share of Ear” study is the authoritative examination of time spent with audio in America. Edison Research surveys 4,000 Americans to measure daily reach and time spent for all forms of audio.

Perception vs. reality: Agencies and advertisers underestimate AM/FM radio shares and overestimate Pandora and Spotify audiences

The Q1 2023 report reveals a yawning gap in agency/marketer perceptions of audio audiences. A study of 300 media agencies and marketers conducted in August 2022 by Advertiser Perceptions, the gold standard measurement firm of advertiser sentiment, found the perceived combined share of Pandora/Spotify is 44%, much greater than the perceived share of AM/FM radio (28%).

AM/FM radio’s actual share (71%) is 2.5 times larger than what advertisers perceive (28%).

Agencies and advertisers vastly overestimate Pandora and Spotify shares. According to the Q1 2023 “Share of Ear,” AM/FM radio’s persons 18+ share of ad-supported audio (71%) is 18 times larger than ad-supported Pandora (4%) and ad-supported Spotify (4%).

AM/FM radio dominates ad-supported audio share of time spent

AM/FM radio is the leader of ad-supported audio with a 71% share of ad-supported audio time spent among persons 18+. Podcasts take the second-place spot with a 17% share. Ad-supported Pandora, Spotify, and SiriusXM lag distantly, each at a 4% share.

2023 versus 2017: AM/FM radio is dominant, AM/FM radio streaming grows to beat ad-supported Pandora/Spotify combined, and podcasts quadruple

Looking back over the last six years, among persons 25-54, AM/FM radio streaming (13%) has grown to beat ad-supported Pandora/Spotify combined (8%). Podcasts have quadrupled from 5% to 21%. Pandora is down significantly (11% to 4%). Spotify is small and up slightly (3% to 4%).

AM/FM radio dominates listening in the car with an 87% share of ad-supported audio

Out of all ad-supported audio in the car, AM/FM radio has an 87% share. Over the last four years, AM/FM radio’s share of ad-supported audio in the car has been steady in the high 80s.

Podcasts have a 6% share of time spent listening in the car. Ad-supported Spotify represents a 1% share of ad-supported audio time spent in the car.

Streaming soars to 20% of all 25-54 AM/FM radio listening

From 2016 to 2020, streaming grew slightly to represent 10% of all AM/FM radio listening. Over the last three years, streaming has surged to represent 20% of 25-54 AM/FM radio time spent.

This growth is really a “tale of two cities,” men versus women.

A whopping 28% of men 25-54 AM/FM radio listening occurs via the stream, nearly three times the proportion of women 25-54

Men 25-54 are driving all of the growth in AM/FM radio streaming. Since 2020, the share of men 25-54 AM/FM radio time spent going to the stream has jumped from 12% to 28%.

Comparatively, women 25-54 only spend 10% of total AM/FM radio listening time with AM/FM radio streaming. This number has remained stable, hovering around 10% for the past few years.

Head snapper: AM/FM radio’s 25-54 streaming audiences are +63% larger than ad-supported Spotify and Pandora combined

Among 25-54s, the ad-supported audiences of Pandora (4%) and Spotify (4%) are quite small. AM/FM radio’s streaming share of 13% is +63% larger than Pandora and Spotify combined.

Podcast audiences have exploded

Prior to 2020, podcast audience growth was gradual. In 2021, podcast audiences went into hyper drive.  Podcasts now have an 8.9 share of overall audio and a 17 share of all U.S. ad-supported audio.

Podcasts’ daily reach among persons 18-49 is up to 34%, up 4 times from 2016

The daily reach of podcasts for Americans 18-49 has quadrupled since 2016. Podcasts now reach 34% of Americans 18-49 daily.

Podcast growth is not limited to younger audiences

Podcasts may be perceived as a younger person’s medium but all age demos are increasing. In fact, the older the demo, the greater the growth. Persons 45-54 have seen the biggest change from 2017 to 2022 (+633%). Persons 55+ saw an over +500% growth.

Spotify’s push to promote podcast listening on their platform has paid off: 20% of time spent on the platform goes to podcasts

Before podcasts were introduced, in 2017, only 2.2% of Spotify listening was to spoken word. Since then, the proportion of podcast listening on Spotify has exponentially increased to 20.2%.

Registered voters spend 55% of their total audio time with ad-supported media and 40% with AM/FM radio

During election cycles, politicians can use AM/FM radio to reach voters. 40% of all time registered voters spend with audio goes to AM/FM radio.

Among ad-supported audio platforms, AM/FM radio dominates among registered voters with a stunning 71% share

71% of all ad-supported audio time spent among registered voters is with AM/FM radio. Next up is podcasts with a substantial 16% share. Ad-supported Pandora, SiriusXM, and Spotify follow with 4% each.

Regardless of political affiliation, AM/FM radio leads in ad-supported time spent

AM/FM radio has the dominant share of ad-supported audio among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans. Podcasts take the second place across the political spectrum. Ad-supported Pandora, SiriusXM, and Spotify have low shares among all three voter groups.

Key takeaways:

• Perception vs. reality: Agencies and advertisers underestimate AM/FM radio shares and overestimate Pandora and Spotify audiences
• AM/FM radio dominates ad-supported audio share of time spent with a 71% share
• 2023 versus 2017: AM/FM radio is dominant, AM/FM radio streaming grows to beat ad-supported Pandora/Spotify combined, and podcasts quadruple
• AM/FM radio dominates listening in the car with an 87% share of ad-supported audio
• Streaming soars to 20% of all 25-54 AM/FM radio listening
• A whopping 28% of men 25-54 AM/FM radio listening occurs via the stream, nearly three times the proportion of women 25-54
• Head snapper: AM/FM radio’s 25-54 streaming audiences are +63% larger than ad-supported Spotify and Pandora combined
• Podcast audiences have exploded: Podcasts’ daily reach among persons 18-49 is up to 34%, up 4 times from 2016
• Podcast growth is not limited to younger audiences
• Spotify’s push to promote podcast listening on their platform has paid off: 20% of time spent on the platform goes to podcasts
• Among ad-supported audio platforms, AM/FM radio dominates among registered voters with a 71% share
• Regardless of political affiliation, AM/FM radio leads in ad-supported time spent

Click here to view a 10-minute video of the key findings.

Pierre Bouvard is Chief Insights Officer of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group®.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.