Blog

March 8, 2021

US Sees Record 209 Million Music Streamers In 2020

110 Million More Music Streamers Than Ten Years Ago According to newly released findings from MusicWatch’s 2020 Annual Music Study, more Americans streamed music in 2020 than ever before. A record 209 million internet users aged 13 or older experienced music streaming. Streaming could source from pure play services such as Pandora, Spotify or Apple read more »

October 27, 2020

Joe Biden Bests Donald Trump Among Audio Enthusiasts

But it’s a dead heat among those who listen to music on Broadcast Radio In a survey conducted by MusicWatch between October 15th and 19th former Vice President Joe Biden topped President Donald Trump as audio users’ choice for US President in the 2020 election. The survey examined a variety of current audio behaviors including read more »

May 28, 2020

It’s Still Rock ‘N’ Roll To Me

Our favorite music genres- from different perspectives For decades “the charts” have been the arbiter of consumer tastes in music. That makes sense. What’s selling (in CD days) or what’s streaming (today) lubricates the engine of the music industry. The charts drive revenue allocation and help to sort out the winners when it comes to read more »

February 10, 2020

Music Account Sharing: Benign or Battleground?

Synamedia, a UK company announced this year at CES tools to help video service providers monitor and manage account sharing ( http://bit.ly/37S3dJn ).  Tom Rutledge, CEO of Charter Communications was quoted in Hollywood Reporter’s December 9 issue as suggesting that the video providers were “creating havoc” with lax security around passwords. There are a multitude read more »

December 19, 2019

Ten Years After: Music Consumers and the Decade of the Teens

At the close of the “aughts” few in the music industry looked back with nostalgia. The next decade appeared uncertain. Tom Silverman, a label executive, visionary and friend would talk about the billions of consumers around the globe who would soon pay for music. But it was hard to see that happening as we welcomed read more »

November 24, 2019

Who is Really Listening to Radio? Part Two

“Does anyone believe 90% of teens listen to AM/FM Radio anymore?” In Part One of this blog we explored radio listening by age demographic. Using new research from MusicWatch’s Monitor study, we concluded that 72 percent of Americans listen to broadcast radio in an average month. Just yesterday a reporter asked me, “does anyone believe that read more »

November 15, 2019

Who is Really Listening to Radio?

In the world of audio, the question about who actually still listens to broadcast radio is oddly controversial. For some reason, reaching a consensus on radio reach presents more of a challenge than agreeing on how many stream music. The radio industry promotes reports claiming 90 percent or more of Americans are listening to broadcast read more »

May 30, 2019

Thanks to Stream-Ripping, Music Piracy Still a Scourge

We are nearly a generation past the time when consumers bought stand-alone burners to copy CDs for their friends, or began downloading music on Napster.  Streaming, and easy, efficient access to music was supposed to have solved many of the issues around unsanctioned sharing and piracy. Unfortunately a segment of music fans continue to acquire read more »

February 28, 2019

It Was A Good Year To Be Spotify

Spotify’s financial results are widely available and carefully scrutinized. This is a different story. It’s a tale of Spotify’s listeners, at least those who living in the US, the most important global market for music. Here’s a few reasons why 2018 was a good year for Spotify: Spotify Premium extended its share lead There are read more »

October 16, 2018

Can Radio Survive Without Passion? A Cautionary Tale

There’s a furious debate taking place about the future of broadcast radio. Some pundits believe that music streaming services, podcasts and changing technology will render “radio” obsolete.  Others opine that radio offers unique advantages that can be successfully evolved in a digital age. In a series of articles we will explore the arguments surrounding radio, read more »