Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Top Takeaways
- Market overview
- Impact of COVID-19 on streaming audio
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- Figure 1: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on streaming audio, October 2020
- Opportunities and Challenges
- Promote streaming audio as a “must have” complement to daily activities
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- Figure 2: Audio streaming activities, by type of service, August 2020
- Audio streamers more judicious in how much they’ll pay for streaming
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- Figure 3: Price sensitivity analysis of the ideal streaming audio service, August 2020
- 2021 will mark the push for profitability among music streamers
- Streaming services need to prioritize building loyalty with younger consumers
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- Figure 4: Use of music streaming service and only free, ad-supported, by age, August 2020
- VR concerts represent an opportunity for brands to fill the gap of live music
- Bundles and cross promotions will remain a vital strategy for success during recovery
- What it means
The Market – Key Takeaways
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- Digital streaming is catching up to traditional radio
- Spotify continues growth despite well-funded music competition from Apple, Amazon and Google
- Podcasting and Audiobooks expect continued growth
- Digital solutions offer alternative to live music
Market Trends
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- Traditional radio trending down against digital audio
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- Figure 5: Digital music streaming services used in the past 30 days, 2015-20
- Impact of COVID-19 on streaming audio
- Audio listenership steamrolls ahead despite COVID-19
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- Figure 6: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on streaming audio, October 2020
Segment Performance
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- Music streaming
- Varied usage among consumers leaves opening for leader to emerge
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- Figure 7: Digital music streaming services used in the past 30 days, April 2019-June 2020
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- Figure 8: Digital music streaming services used in the past 30 days, 2015-20
- Spotify’s growth indicates a favorable trend for music streaming
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- Figure 9: Spotify revenue, 2015-19
- Figure 10: Spotify monthly active users and premium subscribers, 2017-19
- YouTube Music and YouTube Premium have 20M subscribers
- Apple revenue from services show high growth
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- Figure 11: Verizon acquisition email, April 2020
- Podcasting
- Podcasting advertising revenues expected to eclipse $1 billion in 2021
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- Figure 12: Podcast advertising spend by industry, April 2020-August 2020
- Audiobooks
- Audiobook spending already eclipsed $1 billion mark in 2019
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- Figure 13: Purchased an e-book within the past 12 months, 2015-20
Market Factors
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- COVID-19 raises profile of smart speakers in the home
- Younger consumers hit worse by COVID-19 economic fallout
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- Figure 14: Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, by age, September 2019-September 2020
Market Opportunities
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- Loss of live music opens the door for digital solutions
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- Figure 15: Purple Disco Machine Instagram post, October 2020
- TikTok the new avenue to generate revenue and exposure
- Spotify looks to bring karaoke functionality to its platform
- Opportunity for brands to partner with music streaming platforms
Key Players in Streaming Audio
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- Spotify
- Apple Music
- Amazon
- Pandora
- SoundCloud
- Tidal
- YouTube Music & Google Play Music
- BarstoolSports Media
Companies and Brands – Key Takeaways
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- Sirius XM makes significant investments in audio streaming
- T-Mobile allowing unlimited audio streaming
- Programmatic ad buying moves audio streaming to profitability
Companies and Brands – Market Movers
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- Sirius XM makes serious investments into streaming audio
- Spotify adds top podcast programs to its portfolio
- SoundCloud raises $75 million from Sirius XM
- T-Mobile offers unlimited music and audio streaming on its Simple Choice Plan
- Tidal partners with Oculus
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
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- More than half of consumers listen to streaming audio
- Younger consumers pair music with a variety of activities
- Half of audio streamers skip ads when they can
- Majority of users use free ad-supported services
- Spotify one of the leading services for both free and paid users
- Comedy and news/current events lead podcast genres
- Optimum price point for the “ideal streaming service” around $10-11
The Consumer: Trends Drivers
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- Behaviors shift, but listening continues post-pandemic
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- Figure 16: Mintel Trend Drivers and supporting Pillars – Wellbeing, Technology, Value
- A greater focus on wellness means opportunities for audio streaming
- Internet reach and connectivity drive access to digital audio
- A balance of price, number of ads and content will drive overall usage
Video and Audio Entertainment Consumption
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- More than half of consumers stream audio content
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- Figure 17: Video and audio entertainment consumption, August 2020
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- Figure 18: Streaming audio consumption, by audio streamers, August 2020
- Brands looking to reach younger consumers should consider music streaming platforms
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- Figure 19: Streaming audio consumption, by age, August 2020
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- Figure 20: Streaming audio consumption, by gender and age, August 2020
- English-speaking Hispanics among the most likely listeners
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- Figure 21: Streaming audio consumption, by race and Hispanic origin, August 2020
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- Figure 22: Streaming audio consumption, by Hispanic origin and age, August 2020
- Podcast and audiobook audiences index higher among younger, wealthier households
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- Figure 23: Streaming audio consumption, by age and household income, August 2020
Audio Streaming Activities
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- Audio streaming a good complement to a wide variety of activities
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- Figure 24: Audio streaming activities, August 2020
- Younger consumers live life to their own soundtrack
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- Figure 25: Audio streaming activities, by 18-24 year olds, August 2020
- Paid service users listening across more activities
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- Figure 26: Audio streaming activities, by types of music streaming services used, August 2020
Audio Streaming Behaviors
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- Half of audio streamers skip ads if they can
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- Figure 27: Audio streaming behaviors, August 2020
- Podcast and audiobook listeners more likely to share what they’re listening to with friends and family
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- Figure 28: Audio streaming behaviors, by types of audio streaming content, August 2020
- Younger women most likely to skip past ads when possible
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- Figure 29: Audio streaming behaviors – skipping ads, by gender and age, August 2020
Types of Music Streaming Services Used
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- Market skews toward ad-supported usage
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- Figure 30: Types of music streaming services used, August 2020
- Men slightly more likely to pay for music streaming services
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- Figure 31: Types of music streaming services used, by gender and age, August 2020
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- Figure 32: Breakout of gender and age, by types of music streaming services used, August 2020
Music Streaming Services Used
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- YouTube Music, Spotify and Pandora lead free service use
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- Figure 33: Free and paid music streaming services used, August 2020
- Men more likely to use all other audio streaming platforms except Pandora
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- Figure 34: Free audio streaming services used, by gender, August 2020
- Apple Music is the lone service that attracts more paid women listeners than men
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- Figure 35: Paid streaming services used, August 2020
Podcast Genres
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- Comedy and news/current events top podcast genres among listeners
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- Figure 36: Podcast genres, August 2020
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- Figure 37: TURF Analysis – Podcast categories, August 2020
- Consumers 45+ stick with news and politics
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- Figure 38: Podcast genres, by age, August 2020
- Stereotypes ring true for podcasts – men go for sports, women go for true crime
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- Figure 39: Podcast genres – sports and true crime, by gender, August 2020
Price of the Ideal Audio Streaming Service
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- Current audio streamers more price conscious when it comes to the “ideal streaming service”
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- Figure 40: Price sensitivity analysis of the ideal audio streaming service, August 2020
- Overall price point for “ideal” service among all consumers is $11/month
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- Figure 41: Price sensitivity – optimal price, August 2020
- Current audio streamers indicate the ideal service is worth $10/month
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- Figure 42: Price sensitivity – optimal price, by audio streamers, August 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Sales data
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Direct marketing creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Appendix – Price Sensitivity Analysis
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- Figure 43: Price sensitivity – threshold prices, by all consumers, August 2020
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- Figure 44: Price sensitivity – Price Sensitivity aggregate table, by all consumers, August 2020
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- Figure 45: Price sensitivity – threshold prices, by audio streamers, August 2020
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- Figure 46: Price sensitivity – Price Sensitivity aggregate table, by audio streamers, August 2020
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Appendix – Mintel Trend Drivers
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- Figure 47: Mintel Consumer Trend Drivers and Pillars
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