Music Consumption: The most popular ways to Listen to Music

Explore the latest trends in music consumption and uncover which platform listeners can’t get enough of. Your favorite way to listen might not be what you expect.

Music Consumption: The most popular ways to Listen to Music

by Bobby Owsinski of Music 3.0

You may think that there are unlimited ways to experience music, which may be true in a micro way, but most of the world consumes it either via audio streaming, video streaming, radio, physical products or in a live setting. What’s probably more true is that we all consume from more than one, or even all, of these troughs, even though our music consumption habits have changed over the years.

The IFPI issued a report where they asked 43,000 people across 26 countries how they experienced music the most, and here is what they said:

• 32% Audio Streaming, which includes both free and subscription tiers to Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
• 31% Video Streaming, including long and short form videos on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.
• 17% Radio, including both broadcast and internet
• 9% Purchased Music, which includes mostly physical products like CDs, vinyl, cassettes and digital downloads
• 4% Live Music, including at a venue or livestreaming
• Plus another catch-all category that amounts to the last 7% that includes everything from swapping music with family and friends and television.

Perhaps of greater note is that the study found that respondents listened to an average of 20.7 hours of music each week, and that people listen to eight or more different genres and use seven or more different methods to engage with music.

AI Awareness

The report also showed just how music consumers view AI music. 

• 80% of fans feel that human creativity remains a big part of music creation.
• 74% don’t think that AI should be used to clone or impersonate real artists or their work.
• 74% say that there should be transparency about when AI is used in music generation.
• 70% say there should be restrictions on what AI is allowed to do.
• 64% say governments should be involved in regulating AI use.

The report, which looked back on 2023, is interesting in the fact that people no longer consume music from just a few platforms, and that streaming is now the biggest part of their consumption. It’s also an eye opener in that there’s a much greater awareness of the effects of AI music on the business, with stronger feelings that many thought would happen in this short time since it became mainstream.

There’s plenty more music consumption data in the report, so it’s well worth checking out.

Bobby Owsinski is a producer/engineer, author, blogger, podcaster, and coach. He has authored 24 books on music production, music, the music business, music AI, and social media.