AM/FM Radio Holds Competitive Edge for Music

While Two in Three Adults Listen to Music on Broadcast Radio Weekly, New Music Platforms are Playing a Bigger Role

Toronto-based Vision Critical in conjunction with Canadian Music Week just released online survey results that show that broadcast radio stations continue to be the leading music source for North American adults. However, a wide range of digital options appear to be closing the gap.

Nearly two-thirds of North American adults reported listening to music on AM/FM radio stations via standard or streamed radio in the past week. 

Responses show that Canadian adults are slightly more inclined to listen to broadcast radio than Americans—70 percent compared to 63 percent listen weekly.

Though AM/FM usage remains considerably higher than competing platforms, emerging music sources such as YouTube, music download services, Internet radio and streaming services have gained a foothold among online adults.

Key findings include:

• YouTube is a widely used platform for listening to music, especially among 18 to 34 year old adults. About 66 percent of 18 to 34 year old Canadians and 61 percent of 18 to 34 year old Americans listen to music on YouTube. This is virtually the same proportion of 18 to 34 year old adults who listen to music on broadcast radio stations (66 percent in Canada and 62 percent in the U.S.).
  
• Though music consumption patterns are generally similar between Canada and the U.S., the use of Internet radio and music streaming services is considerably higher in the U.S. More than one in four American adults listen to music on the Web, whereas only about 20 percent of the Canadian adult population do so where services such as Pandora and Spotify are not available.

“We are seeing that music and in fact, radio itself are shifting platforms. This is not necessarily at the expense of broadcast radio but as a result of the expanding array of music platform choices.  Radio still plays a key role in keeping its listeners connected, but digital options are clearly moving into the pure music position.”  - Jeff Vidler, senior vice president of media and entertainment at VisionCritical

The survey was conducted between March 19-20, 2013 among 1,506 Canadian adults ages 18 and over and 1,004 American adults ages 18 and over. Email invitations were sent to members of the Vision Critical Market Panels, offering a nationally representative sample for Canada via the Angus Reid Forum and for the United States via Springboard America. The survey was fielded in association with Canadian Music Week, March 19-24, 2013 at the Marriott Eaton Centre in Toronto. 

Strong Feelings = Strong Ratings

Toronto researcher Jeff Vidler recently showed me a new online approach to real time programming analysis which inventories down to the second the feelings of the viewer or listener as they watch video or listen to audio.

In a very short clip of a sports talk show the audience was curious, engaged, interested, excited, then confused, bored, disturbed and then tuned off.

The more deeply-felt positive emotions, ranging from amused to happy, the higher the level of usage.

Negative ones, like ranges of annoyed or apathetic, don’t take very long to cost attention span at the very least and lose a listener at the most.

Sales and management’s job is to push to use every minute to help them make money.

Talented programmers and personalities are able to find a way to do that by keeping the audience’s feelings positively engaged and their interest level high, relating all their content informatively and engagingly.

Then, there’s the majority of us, the majority of the time.

We've been reading the same lines on the same cards for too many years.

As you air check yourself, listen for great storytelling - immediate, local and personal - and count the positive emotions you feel.

Weak/no feelings = weak/no ratings.

The New iPod Nano Gives Radio A Second Chance Among Younger Listeners

Two-thirds (66%) of Americans aged 18-34 show an active interest in the pause-and-rewind feature of the new FM tuner. The interactive features of the FM tuner in Apple’s new iPod Nano show potential to energize interest among younger demographics who are the heaviest users of mp3 players.
This is one of the main findings of an online survey of 1,185 American adults conducted by the Radio Research division of Vision Critical Communications. Parallel surveys were also conducted among Canadian and British adults showing similar results. The interactive features of the FM tuner generate considerable interest— particularly among 18-34 year-olds. When presented with the specific features of the FM tuner:

• 47% of Americans aged 18 and older say they are “very interested” in the ability to pause and rewind songs they hear on the radio. This rises to 66% among 18-34 year-olds.
• The opportunity to see the name of the song using the Nano’s RDS display also has strong appeal. In all, 41% of Americans and 55% of 18-34 year-olds express an active interest in this feature.
• Consumers show somewhat less interest in the ability to “tag” songs for future purchase. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Americans aged 18 and older are “very interested” in this feature, but this increases to 45% of 18-34 year olds.

Of the five features from the new Ipod Nano that were presented in the survey, American adults rank an FM tuner #3 in terms of overall interest.

American adults in general show greater active interest in the Nano’s larger display screen (with 46% indicating they are “very” interested) and the new video camera (45% “very” interested) than in an FM tuner (34%) when the tuner is presented on its own prior to mentioning its specific features. Interest in an FM tuner is however well above the active interest expressed in the voice recorder (21%) and the pedometer (17%).

• Interest in and usage of mp3 players and the iPod Nano are highest among 18-34 year-olds.
• Thirty-two percent (32%) of 18-34 year-olds report listening “daily” to mp3s. This compares to only 14% of all Americans aged 18 and older.
• Fifteen percent (15%) of 18-34 year-olds say they currently use an iPod Nano, vs. 8% of American adults in general.

Full survey results by demographic category and country are available on request here.