Roadmap 2008: Sample Size WAY Up; Satisfaction STRONG But Down Fractionally

Nearly 17,000 heavy users of country radio across the U.S. and Canada took at least 20 minutes each to respond to an internet questionnaire over the past month and - according to the results of our “Roadmap ‘08” report - country’s vital signs remain very strong when compared to a year ago.

However, there is some evidence of loss of passion, especially among the younger side of country’s target.

Overall “satisfaction” with “your current favorite country station” fell slightly from 70% a year ago to 66.6% this year.

“To have two thirds of your core audience state that they are highly satisfied is a very compelling statistic,” says A&O partner Jaye Albright.

Fewer than 1% say they are very dissatisfied, but the number of folks who report being only ‘somewhat satisifed’ increased from 25.7% last year to 26.4% in 2008.

The changes are very small, but due to the huge sample size, they are statistically-significant.

There was a 68% increase in sample size from 10,062 in (between 1/20 and 2/18) 2007 to 16,712 (between 1/26 and 2/24) in 2008.

“There’s plenty of specific information in this data to help us understand what may be happening which drives these changes and to shore up our weaknesses now, before the next book begins,” adds A&O partner Michael O’Malley. “The mere fact that so many of our listeners were willing to take the time to give their suggestions and opinions to make countr radio better is a very healthy sign.”

Based on changes in the sample, it’s possible to hypothesize that our core is slipping 18 to 44 and growing 45+.

Demo composition (% of total sample) changes:

2007-2008 (change)
12-17: 1.8-1.8 = 0%
18-24: 8.2-8.1 = -1.2%
25-34: 20.7-17.8% = -14%
35-44: 28.1-26.6 - = -5.3%
45-54: 27.5-29.3 = +6.5%
55-64: 11.5-13.8 = +20%
65-74: .1- .2.3 = is this increase by a factor of 22 due to more internet use by this demo this year? Or, more usage?

The changes in demo composition of these P-1’s may be what is driving the music genre preference trends.

This sample, since it comes from A&O client station email databases, is 68.2% people who listen to country music radio more than two hours per day.

24.9% of the respondents listen between an hour and two hours per day.

6.9% reported listening less than an hour per day, so these stats reflect the preferences of country radio’s heaviest users in our client markets, but also include 1,155 light users as well.

Each A&O client station which had 200 or more of their listeners complete the survey will receive reports on both the national averages and also their local data in the next 14 days.

Highlights of the national data will be presented at the Albright & O’Malley Pre-CRS client seminar on Tuesday, March 4 from 2:00 to 5:30 pm in the Country Music Hall Of Fame’s Ford Theatre. Admission is free, but by invitation only.