The music industry has been a major part of the overall U.S. economy for many years. Americans spend billions of dollars each year on concerts, music downloads, CDs, and merchandise. And marketers have used people’s love of music on the radio as a way to advertise their businesses. The internet has changed much, but it hasn’t diminished people’s love of music. Recent studies from Nielsen show the power of music with consumers for marketers and how the internet is changing the way people buy and listen to music. Here are nine stats about internet marketing and the modern music lover.
Believe it or not, according to a recent Nielsen study, 75 percent of Americans actively choose to listen to music, compared to 73 percent for watching TV.
According to Nielsen, 15 percent of the money spent on music in the U.S. during 2014 came from digital sales, second only to concert ticket sales.
The same study found that two out of three (67%) of US music listeners stream music online each week.
Last year saw a 60 percent increase in on-demand music sales. Americans streamed 164 billion on-demand music tracks across audio and video platforms in 2014, up 58 billion streamed tracks from 2013’s totals.
Even data from the end of the year showed that digital music streams is a growing audience for musicians and marketers. The week ending November 9, 2014, marked the first time that total music streams for one week surpassed four billion in the US.
Marketers should also take note of music services for ad placement. People often listen to music when they can’t view screens. A Nielsen study from 2014 found that 23 percent of total US music listening occurs in cars, 16 percent happens while working, and 15 percent while doing chores.
More music sales are happening online. The study mentioned before noted that 39 percent of US smartphone owners purchased music on their devices in 2014, up 5 percent from 2013.
Americans spend about 15 percent of their time listening to music. Nielsen found that Americans listen to an average of 25 hours of music per week.
Two out of five (41%) US music listeners use online streaming services.
These stats show that music is still a great way for marketers to reach consumers, since music remains just as popular now as it ever was. Business owners should take advantage of ads on online radio or streaming music services. It’s a good way to reach consumers in places where traditional internet marketing techniques can’t be used.
Things have changed for musicians as well. The internet, smartphones, and streaming services has given music creators new ways to get paid for their work. Music producers need to consider using internet marketing to help get better coverage for their artists as well as increase album sales.
For more information on how the internet has changed the music scene, read this article with stats on how online radio and streaming service are used in cars.