The IFPI has released its annual music consumer insight report and this year’s findings dig deep. Not only does the organization expose statistics that lead to a better understanding of the industry, it draws connections about how music is consumed and experienced today.

Perhaps the most finding of all, the IFPI reveals: Music is an integral part of our lives. In 2018, we listen to music for 17.8 hours per week on average. Most of the listening happens in the car.

Next up: Streaming is virtually ubiquitous. An impressive 86% of people listen through on-demand streaming, such as Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube. Young music consumers are the most engaged streamers, as 57% of listeners ages 16 – 24 pay for subscriptions.

Consumers are engaging with their local music genres. Japan listens to more J-Pop. France listens to more Variété Française. Brazil listens to música popular brasileira. It’s not listed here, but we can bet Detroit is listening to techno and Chicago is listening to house on the regular.

High-growth music markets are seeing high levels of licensed engagement. Consumers in China and India listen to licensed music the most at 96%.

User upload services continue to dominate consumption. Most people are listening to music via YouTube — about half. This means less streaming subscriptions are purchased, because “anything they want to listen to is on YouTube.”

Unfortunately: Copyright infringement remains a significant issue. More than 1/3 of consumers admit they consume through infringing methods. We elaborate more on this here.

In the official press release, CEO of IFPI Frances Moore concludes the findings:

This year’s Music Consumer Insight Report tells the story of how recorded music is woven into the lives of fans around the world. As it becomes increasingly accessible, it continues to be embraced across formats, genres and technologies.

Record companies are working with their partners to sustain and develop these rich and diverse ways in which music is being enjoyed, ensuring that it continues on its exciting journey around the world.

However, this report also shows the challenges the music community continues to face – both in the form of the evolving threat of digital copyright infringement as well as in the failure to achieve fair compensation from some user-upload services. Policymakers around the globe have been scrutinizing these issues and increasingly acting to address them.

Read IFPI’s 2018 music consumer insight report here for a full understanding.

 

Photo via Rukes.com

This article was first published on Your EDM. Source: New Report Reveals Music Streaming Is “Virtually Ubiquitous”

from Your EDM https://ift.tt/2ROPlIN