It’s official: according to data just released by Edison Research, more American teenagers listen to Spotify, Pandora, and other streaming music services than traditional, FM broadcast radio. The finding comes from Edison’s ‘Share of Ear’ report, which measures all forms of music listening, including downloads, streaming services, online radio, and traditional AM/FM broadcast channels.Most major radio stations also simulcast their streams online, but according to Edison, that isn’t really helping. Instead, web-born platforms are easily commanding greater share. Edison also tallied time spent with Pandora and Spotify rivals like Beats Music, iTunes Radio, and Rhapsody, though those contributions are mostly marginal. Indeed, Pandora and Spotify have emerged as the 800,000 lb. gorillas in the streaming space, and are now taking over a jungle once ruled by big, broadcast beasts (alongside stuff like CDs and downloads).
In total, Edison found that the average American teenager (between the ages of 13 and 17) listens to just over 4 hours of audio a day. Overall, Edison polled more than 2,000 Americans aged 13 or older for the finding.
Future Vision by Erwin Van Lun on this article
This is again another step. A future unfolds where central distributed media such as TV and radio are hardly used anymore. Only live events where everyone is tuned in interactively (a massive game actually) will have a future. All music and visual entertainment will be purely personal. And we’ll be prepared to pay for these services.