A Nielsen report from Q2 2024 has it that the average American consumes approximately 4 hours and 5 minutes of audio per day, which accounts for almost 20% of the overall time a person spends daily. This includes time in radio, podcasts, music streaming services, and satellite radio. It may not come as a surprise, considering that audio content is such a pervasive element in today's world; it is available at home, in cars, on mass transport, at work, and even when walking down the street. But what are Americans actually listening to the most?
As digital platforms and music streaming services blew up in the past decade, the radios did not lose an iota of their influence. According to Nielsen's report, 67 percent of ad-supported audio time by U.S. adults is still consumed by radio. This trend was even more pronounced among the adults over the age of 35, who allocated 74% of ad-supported audio time to radio.
According to Nielsen, radio's reach is perennial. "Radio, the original ad-supported audio platform, continues to reach all corners of the population. There, nearly half of all daily ad-supported audio time among younger consumers is spent with radio, while for older listeners, almost three-quarters of their time is spent with radio."
Ad-supported music streaming services account for a scant 11% of ad-supported listening among adults 18+, while podcasts pick up a higher share of 19%.
Of course, that low level of engagement for ad-supported music streaming compared with traditional radio is even more noteworthy given the continued growth in premium music streaming services. Given the above, some industry voices suggest that perhaps it is time to sunset free streaming options and focus on the greater value premium subscribers can offer artists.
With radio remaining so pertinent, Apple Music is working to give artists more visibility into how well they're performing on the radio. Leveraging Shazam's recognition technology, Apple is now giving artists access to data about their plays on radio via their Apple Music for Artists dashboards, from more than 40,000 radio stations worldwide. With radio still accounting for such a big chunk of audio consumption, this type of data is increasingly valuable to artists who want to understand and grow their audience.
Investing In Royalties
As music streaming and audio consumption continues to grow, so does revenue for artists, songwriters, and producers. If you are looking for some of the best ways to invest money to build wealth and create passive income, now you can do so on Royalty Exchange. On Royalty Exchange you can sign up as an investor and search through thousands of music catalog listings that include producer and songwriter royalties to some of the biggest songs of the past few decades.
Take this Kendrick Lamar listing for instance. This catalog features hit songs from Kendrick's debut album like "M.A.A.D. City" and classics from the late Nipsey Hussle like "Double Up". The investor acquired this catalog in July 2019 for $162,000 and has already collected $170,283 in publishing royalties in just over 5 years. The investor of this catalog can hold onto the songs and earn for life! The earnings from this catalog are extremely stable so in time of economic and market uncertainty, investors are finding music royalties to be amazing passive income investments. If you are looking for one of the best passive income ideas, look no further than music royalty investing.
We’ve prepared this guide on Royalty Investing Made Easy to help you out if you want to get started investing in music royalty catalogs.
At Royalty Exchange, you can choose from thousands of the most popular songs to invest in. There are a ton of legendary pop catalogs from artists such as Rihanna, SZA, even Miley Cyrus just to name a few. We offer hundreds of catalogs that are up for auction today, so sign up as an investor to get started.
Discover why so many investors today are actively searching for the next best music catalog investment deals.
