RouteNote Blog

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A groundbreaking new report has revealed the shocking truth about how young people are consuming audio. Is it a death knell for radio?

According to the latest data from Edison Research, a staggering 60% of audio listening time among teens and young adults is spent on streaming platforms like Spotify and YouTube. This means that less than half of their listening time is dedicated to the good old radio.

But is this the end for radio? Only 20% of listening time amongst those aged 13-22 in the U.S. was on AM/FM Radio. But for a digital generation, one-fifth of the time spent on traditional radio isn’t bad at all. Particularly when you take into account that music streaming is 37%, not even double the listening time.

The data suggests that podcasts are the new pop stars. With over 50% of young people listening to at least one podcast a month, it’s clear that spoken word content is rapidly gaining ground.

It’s clear that streaming platforms are the undisputed champions of the young listener. With their ability to curate personalised playlists, discover new music, and access a vast library of content, it’s no wonder that radio is struggling to compete. But radio remains a large part of music listening, especially amongst older generations.

So, how can artists reach the younger generation of listeners? The clear leader for exposure is music streaming services. With RouteNote, reaching millions of audiences young and old is easy thanks to free and simple music distribution services.

As listeners habits have transformed, so have the methods with which artists reach their audiences. No longer is exposure tied to the limited access of radio features. Any artists can upload their music to global streaming services like Spotify and reach an audience of millions.

This has levelled the playing field in terms of global distribution. Sign up for free at www.routenote.com to distribute unlimited music releases the world over to the top music platforms.