Music Consumer Behaviour Q3 2018 YouTube Leads the Way But At What Cost?

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The 20,000 Foot View:  This report presents music consumption data for        2018, with consumer data for US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Germany, Sweden and the UK.

Key Findings

• Radio listening is the most widespread music activity with        penetration and watching music videos on YouTube is second on       
• Across all ages, YouTube is the only streaming activity to cross over to mainstream (i.e. more than        penetration)
• A generational divide is present, with older consumers clinging on to legacy format and younger consumers adopting streaming
• Streaming audio behaviour is fragmented, with user playlists, curated playlists, podcasts and streaming radio ‘channels’ all at        or below
• The car is the clear leader in terms of music listening location with        penetration but phone is highest among under       
• Free audio streaming is smaller than both YouTube and music radio in all markets, even in Sweden, home of Spotify
• In Mexico YouTube music penetration is        for consumers aged 20–24, compared to        for music radio
• Podcast penetration is        – as high as curated playlist penetration
• Podcast penetration is highest in stronger radio markets, with penetration at        in Canada and Australia, though peaking at        in Sweden
• YouTube is the world’s most widely used streaming music app with        WAU penetration, far ahead of second placed Spotify on       
• Music video ad supported label revenue was up        in 2017, compared to just        for ad supported audio
• YouTube’s growth comes at the expense of traditionally licensed services, both in terms of users and advertiser spend
• Spotify’s WAU rate is markedly higher than Apple Music’s       
• YouTube is at the bottom of the pack in terms of free-to-paid conversion, with just       
• Of the other freemium services, Spotify is top with        followed by Deezer on        and Soundcloud on       
• Streaming video has its use case – binge watching – but playlists are not yet that for streaming music

Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Amazon, Amazon Prime Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Apple, Apple Music, Deezer, Google, Google Play Music, Napster, Soundcloud, Spotify, Tidal, YouTube