Time spent with media by adults in the US

Source:  Data from Nielsen, reported in blog post, 18th July 2016

35% of the ads on the top 100 podcasts were for 5 companies

"Midroll sells ads for over 200 podcasts, including some of the most popular ones like WTF with Marc Maron and the Bill Simmons Podcast. The not-so-secret reality about podcast ads, though, are that advertisers are quite concentrated: a FiveThirtyEight intern heroically listened to the top 100 shows on the iTunes chart and counted 186 ads; 35 percent of them were from five companies. More tellingly, nearly all of the ads were of the direct marketing variety."

Source:  Stratechery, 7th June 2016

Full FiveThirtyEight piece is here, with more stats

Regular use of different media & devices in major countries

Source:  Ofcom's International Communications Market Report, December 2015
Full document is here

Weekly use of different media channels in the US

Source:  JacobsMedia Tech Survey 11, November 2015
Note - This is research for a radio body, and hence no mention of, or figure for, TV!

Listening time by age in the UK in 2015

Source:  Ofcom's Communications Market Report, August 2015
Full report here
All charts here

UK Ad Spend by Medium, 2014

Source:  Data from the Advertising Association & Warc, published by Mediatel, 28th July 2015

Spotify has 20m paying users, and 75m total active users

"What a difference a year makes! At the end of May 2014, we reached 10 million paying subscribers and 40 million active users. Today, we have reached more than 20 million subscribers and more than 75 million active users. 10 million subscribers in our first five and a half years – and another 10 million subscribers in just a single year! That’s an average of one new subscriber every three seconds over the last year. Wow. And, more people listening on Spotify means more payouts to the creators of the music you love.  As we grow, the amount of royalties we pay out to artists, songwriters and rights holders continues to climb faster than ever. We have now paid more than $3 billion USD in royalties, including more than $300 million in the first three months of 2015 alone. That’s good for music, good for music fans … and good for music makers. Take a look at what it means for four different types of artists. The blue columns show average actual payouts over the last 12 months, which started with 10 million subscribers; the green columns show our projected average payouts over the next 12 months, starting from our new baseline of 20 million paying subscribers"
Source:  Spotify, 10th June 2015

Earlier
60m MAUs, 15m paying - Jan 2015
50m MAUs, 12.5m paying - Nov 2014
40m MAUs, 10m paying - May 2014
24m MAUs, 6m paying - Mar 2013
5m paying - Dec 2012
3m paying - Jan 2012
2.5m paying - Nov 2011

The BBC has a global weekly reach of 308 million across all platforms

"Figures reveal the BBC has a weekly global audience of 308 million people. This represents the combined measured reach of international BBC content – both news and entertainment – for the year 2014/15 and is the first time this figure has ever been measured in this way.
In 2013 Tony Hall, Director General of the BBC, set a target of 500 million for the BBC’s global reach for 2022.
The figures – the BBC Global Audience Measure (GaAM) – reveal that the BBC’s weekly global news audience, which is measured each year, has increased by 18 million people, or 7 per cent since last year, to a record-breaking 283 million.  This means that one in every 16 adults around the world uses BBC News.
For the first time, television (148m) overtook radio (133m) as the most popular platform for BBC international news, and it is also the first time since we tracked audiences for all three platforms – radio, TV and online (55m) – in English and 28 other languages – that they’ve all grown in the same year.
The BBC World Service’s audience has increased by 10 per cent in its first year of licence fee funding and now stands at 210m, with the biggest boost coming from new World Service TV news bulletins in languages other than English."

Source:  Advanced Television, 22nd May 2015

Drake's 2015 album broke streaming records on spotify

"Drake's surprise album has set records on Spotify.
The music-streaming service said Tuesday (Feb. 17) that the rapper's new album, If You're Reading This It's Too Late, set the record for most streams from an album in its debut week in the U.S. Songs from the album, released Friday, were streamed more than 17.3 million times in three days.
Drake Decoded: 10 Subliminal Shots on 'If You're Reading This It's Too Late'
Drake's 2013 album, Nothing Was the Same, previously had the record for most streams in a debut week with 15.8 million.
The new album also set a record for most streams in a single day for an album in the U.S. with 6.8 million streams on Saturday."

Source:  Billboard, 17th February 2015

More time is spent streaming audio than listening to the radio for 16-24s in the UK

Source:  Ofcom's Consumer Experience Report 2014, released January 2015
Full report here

Americans aged 13-17 spend more time listening to a streaming service than FM radio

"It’s official: according to data just released by Edison Research, more American teenagers listen to Spotify, Pandora, and other streaming music services than traditional, FM broadcast radio.  The finding comes from Edison’s ‘Share of Ear’ report, which measures all forms of music listening, including downloads, streaming services, online radio, and traditional AM/FM broadcast channels.
Most major radio stations also simulcast their streams online, but according to Edison, that isn’t really helping.  Instead, web-born platforms are easily commanding greater share.  Edison also tallied time spent with Pandora and Spotify rivals like Beats Music, iTunes Radio, and Rhapsody, though those contributions are mostly marginal.  Indeed, Pandora and Spotify have emerged as the 800,000 lb. gorillas in the streaming space, and are now taking over a jungle once ruled by big, broadcast beasts (alongside stuff like CDs and downloads).
In total, Edison found that the average American teenager (between the ages of 13 and 17) listens to just over 4 hours of audio a day.  Overall, Edison polled more than 2,000 Americans aged 13 or older for the finding."
Source:  Digital Music News, 21st January 2015

Spotify has 60m active users & 15m paying subscribers

"We had an amazing 2014 at Spotify and owe it all to you, the music fans who listen, discover, share and celebrate music and artists with us every day of the year.
And before 2014 turned into 2015, we reached 15 million subscribers and 60 million active users!"
Source:  News from Spotify, 12th January 2015
Note - Spotify offered 3 months subscription for $1 per month in December 2014
Earlier
50m MAUs, 12.5m paying - Nov 2014
40m MAUs, 10m paying - May 2014
24m MAUs, 6m paying - Mar 2013
5m paying - Dec 2012
3m paying - Jan 2012
2.5m paying - Nov 2011

The 'serial' podcast has nearly 1.3 million downloads per episode

"In the normally low-profile world of podcasting, “Serial” is a certified sensation—a testament to the power of great storytelling. It’s quickly become the most popular podcast in the world, according to Apple, and the fastest to reach 5 million downloads and streams in iTunes history. “Serial” is the top podcast in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia, and in the top 10 in Germany, South Africa and India.
[...]
“Serial” is downloaded an average 1.26 million times per episode, sending fans into debates over the finer points of the evidence. People can hear the podcast, which is like a radio show but entirely on the Internet, either by streaming it from the “Serial” website or downloading it onto a phone, tablet or computer from a platform like iTunes."

Source:  WSJ, 13th November 2014

Spotify has 50m active users & 12.5m paying subscribers

"Our free service drives our paid service. Today we have more than 50 million active users of whom 12.5 million are subscribers each paying $120 per year. That’s three times more than the average paying music consumer spent in the past. What’s more, the majority of these paying users are under the age of 27, fans who grew up with piracy and never expected to pay for music. But here’s the key fact: more than 80% of our subscribers started as free users. If you take away only one thing, it should be this: No free, no paid, no two billion dollars."

Source:  Blog post from Spotify, 11th November 2014

Earlier -
40m MAUs, 10m paying - May 2014
24m MAUs, 6m paying - Mar 2013
5m paying - Dec 2012
3m paying - Jan 2012
2.5m paying - Nov 2011

Weekly reach of media activities in the UK by time of day

Source:  Ofcom's 2014 Communications Market Report, released 7th August 2014
More here

Vulfpeck's silent album Sleepify eearned $20,000 in royalties from Spotify

"Los Angeles groove band Vulfpeck’s silent album ‘Sleepify’ may have been a mere prank intended to rack up play counts and royalties, or perhaps it was a more sophisticated act of digital performance art. It's definitely been a rocky road -- but either way, the inaudible ten-track recording has delivered the band a very real payout from Spotify of nearly $20,000, and the band is proceeding with plans to book a U.S. tour.
During its seven-week life on Spotify during March and April, ‘Sleepify’ garnered about 5.5 million plays, according to a royalty statement shared by keyboardist Jack Stratton. At payouts that varied from $0.0030 to $0.0038 per play for the short tracks, the band’s final two-month take from Spotify was $19,655.56 -- not bad for a record consisting of about five minutes’ quiet time. (That figure doesn’t count the payouts for Los Angeles-based Vulfpeck’s more tuneful records, which received smaller play counts and royalties. One cut from the band’s 2013 album ‘My First Car’ has surpassed 120,000 total plays, and several others have more than 40,000.) Moreover, Stratton said the band is anticipating another $0.0002 per stream for copyright payouts -- about $1,100."

Source:  Billboard, 22nd July 2014

Spotify has 10 million paying subscribers

"Today we are thrilled to announce a special milestone – we now have 10 million paying subscribers and more than 40 million active users across 56 markets! Wow — we’re incredibly grateful to the thousands of artists and millions of music fans around the world who have helped us reach this point."
Source:  Spotify blog, 21st May 2014

Vulfpek made $20,000 from their 'silent album' on Spotify

"Last month, Vulfpek released a completely silent album on Spotify to finance a free tour for fans.  That was laughed off by Spotify at first, until Vulfpek earned more than $20,000 on the idea.  That prompted a big response: according to the band, Spotify’s lawyers first asked nicely, then started ripping it down."
Source:  Digital Music News, 24th April 2014
Note - Background to story

Global music streaming revenues exceeded $1 billion in 2013

"The digital market has continued to diversify with revenues from subscription services, such as Deezer and Spotify, growing by 51.3 per cent, passing the US$1 billion mark for the first time. Global revenues from subscription and advertising-supported streams now account for 27 per cent of digital revenues, up from 14 per cent in 2011.
It is estimated that more than 28 million people worldwide now pay for a music subscription, up from 20 million in 2012 and just eight million in 2010.
Music subscription, which has helped transform Sweden and Norway in recent years, is now having similar positive impact in Denmark and Netherlands.
Record companies continue to license many new services, with Beats Music and iTunes Radio recently launching in the US. The industry hopes and expects these services to spread quickly around the world. There are some 450 licensed services internationally, including global services such as Spotify, which expanded into 38 new markets in 2013, Deezer, Google Play and regional services such as Muve in the US and Asia's KKBOX.
DOWNLOADS AND PHYSICAL FORMATS REMAIN IMPORTANT
Digital downloads remain a key revenue stream, accounting for a substantial two-thirds of digital revenues (67 per cent). Downloads are helping to drive digital growth in some developing markets, including Hong Kong, the Philippines, Slovakia and South Africa. Revenues from downloads globally fell slightly by 2.1 per cent in value, the decline being offset by increases in streaming and subscription revenue.
Physical format sales still account for a major proportion of industry revenues in many major markets. They account for more than half (51.4%) of all global revenues, compared to 56 per cent in 2012. Although global physical sales value declined by 11.7 per cent in 2013, major markets including Germany, Italy, the UK and the US saw a slow-down in the rate of physical decline. France's physical sales grew by an estimated 0.8 per cent, helped by a local repertoire boom.
While vinyl sales account for only a small fraction of the overall industry revenues, they have seen an increase in recent years in some key markets. In the US, vinyl sales increased by 32 per cent in 2013 (Nielsen Soundscan), and in the UK, they increased by 101 per cent in 2013 (BPI)."

Source:  Press release from IFPI, 18th March 2014
Full report here

Regular use of media in 2013

Click to enlarge

Source:  Ofcom's International Communications Market Report, December 2013