Radio Isn’t Dead

Radio appears to have done a better job than TV at holding its own in the face of subscription services - at least, for now. Data from the IFPI Engaging With Music 2023 report shows that the medium remains popular around the world across all surveyed age groups. While the youngest age category of 16-24 year olds had the lowest share of respondents saying that they had a strong engagement with radio in 2023, the figure was still 59 percent. This rises with age, reaching 78 percent of respondents saying the same in the 55-64 year old category.

This popularity is largely driven by a love of music. Of the 43,000 internet users interviewed across 26 countries, 63 percent said that without music, they would not listen to the radio. 85 percent of radio listeners said that if that were the case, they would then seek music elsewhere, most often through subscription streaming services.

A key reason for radio maintaining its pull where TV has not is the saving grace of the daily commute. According to the IFPI, 65 percent of all radio listening time is thought to take place via car radios or standalone radios, while 17 percent is on a phone or computer, 9 percent a smartspeaker and 8 percent another way.

Looking to the future, while radio remains highly popular, it appears that in the United States at least, streaming audio will likely continue to grow at the expense of broadcast radio. Data from Edison Research shows that mobile listening has surpassed ‘radio set’ listening in every location except the car, but that even there listening on the phone is starting to eat into radio listening time.