The Edison Research and Triton Digital The Infinite Dial’s latest report showed, among other things, an uptick in online listening in the car environment, as well as a continuing adoption of smart speakers. This begs the question, what audio brands are people listening to? Considerable time and research went into finding the answers.
It’s probably no surprise that Pandora leads in the area of audio brand awareness, at 89%. Apple and Amazon are tied for greatest increase in awareness over the past year, jumping from 60% to 74%. Every brand on the list enjoys greater awareness than last year, except Deezer, Tracker and 8Tracks.
[Read: Survey Says AM-FM Radio Continues to Dominate In-Car Media]
Pandora also leads in monthly usage with 30%. And even though Apple, Amazon and iHeart Music each enjoy greater awareness, more people say they use Spotify on a monthly basis. The three-year trend shows Pandora declining slightly from 32% in 2017, while all others enjoy slight increases.
Monthly usage broken out by demographics in the 12–34 age group shows Spotify and SoundCloud as the clear winners. The picture shifts a bit when examining the 35 to 54 demographic. The use of Pandora is increasing, as is the consumption of all others. iHeart Radio is also trending up more consistently with this group.
The three-year trend of weekly listening shows Pandora holding on to its lead with 22%, but Spotify has almost closed the gap with a big increase this year from 16% to 20%.
Most people think of YouTube as a video brand, but the company has made significant inroads into the audio market. YouTube launched its music service in the first half of 2018, with features such as a premium, ad free service, along with the ability to listen to music while a phone is locked, making it more competitive with Spotify and Apple Music. Most of YouTube’s gains have been with younger demographics. Among the 12–34 group, listening increased from 66% to 70% over the past year, while the 35–54 group saw an increase from 47% to 51%.
