Everyone Listens to Music, But How We Listen is Switching
Music consumption has switched, but consumers’ appetite for music is as strong as ever.
According to Nielsen’s Music three hundred sixty 2014 explore, 93% of the U.S. population listens to music, spending more than twenty five hours each week jamming out to their dearest tunes. In fact, 75% of Americans say they actively choose to listen to music, which is more than they claim to actively choose to see TV (73%). Whether in the car (25%), at work (15%) or while doing chores (15%), we spend big chunks of our time listening to music. The difference from times past, however, is that the way we individually tune is as unique as the ear buds or headphones we sport while listening.
And when it comes to how we’re listening, the story is largely a digital one. Americans streamed one hundred sixty four billion on-demand tracks across audio and movie platforms in 2014, up from one hundred six billion in 2013. Not only did the number of rivulets in two thousand fourteen surge past the number a year earlier, but the rhythm of weekly flows hit fresh heights. For example, the week ending Nov. 9, 2014, marked the very first time that total flows for one week surpassed four billion. Of those, Trio.9 billion were on-demand audio and movie rivulets (1.845 billion audio, Two.05 billion movie). In any given week across America, 67% of music fans tap into the growing pipeline of streaming music to get their feet moving or just tune out the rest of the world.
While two thousand fourteen was a monumental year for music streaming, it highlighted how the music landscape is fragmenting, just like the entire media arena is. CDs and cassettes declined, while vinyl reported its ninth consecutive year of sales growth. With 9.Two million units sold in 2014, vinyl sales roared past the 6.1 million units sold in two thousand thirteen by almost 52%. Given the more-than-two-year trend of rising sales, vinyl now accounts for 6% of physical album sales.
On average, U.S. consumers report spending $109 each year on music. So aside from albums, what other types of music options are consumers spending their money on? Remarkably, live events are gaining momentum, as they now account for more than half of total music activity spending each year.
But despite the ramp up in events and festivals, albums and songs themselves remain the heart of any true discussion about music. Overall, two thousand fourteen was a bifurcated year for physical music sales. While physical album sales were down overall, there were some bright catches sight of as well as areas of chance.
Firstly, physical album sales (CDs, cassettes and LPs) were down across most, but not all channels. Notably, physical sales enhanced by more than 5% through non-traditional avenues like the Internet and direct-to-consumer channels. That didn’t offset the overall decline, but it does indicate that some channels are more viable than others.
Aside from format, however, no discussion about the music industry in two thousand fourteen would be finish without recognizing the effect of two individual releases, each of which sold more than Three.Five million units. That hasn’t happened since 2005. Combined, Taylor Swift’s 1989 and the Frozen soundtrack accounted for almost half of the year’s top ten album sales. So the takeaway here is that two releases had a big influence on keeping the annual dip in overall in music sales from being much fatter.
Despite the fragmented landscape, there’s no doubt that music remains a vital part of Americans’ entertainment diet. Consumers will proceed exploring digital channels, but vinyl, which now accounts for 6% of the physical album sales in the U.S., is poised to proceed growing as long as labels and artists create unique offerings they find desirable.
But it’s not simply a matter of physical and digital. For example, rock remains the superior genre for album sales, while pop stands out on a track-by-track basis. So as with achieving success in any market, winning in two thousand fifteen and beyond will hinge on having clear insight into what consumers are looking for and finding ways to supply.
Methodology
The insights in this article were derived from two sources:
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