BRIDGE RATINGS: RADIO THE TOP SOURCE FOR NEW MUSIC DISCOVERIES Adam Jacobson – Radio and Records
According to a new study from Bridge Ratings, 45% of 2,500 randomly surveyed Americans learn about new music from listening to traditional radio stations. While that's well above the percentage of those who said P2Ps and Internet radio stations gave them the knowledge of new music before any other source, more than 50% of those surveyed in Bridge's previous survey said traditional radio was their No. 1 source for new music.
Older music fans by a large margin found out about new music via traditional radio: Of the 2,500 survey participants contacted by phone by Bridge, 61% of 35-54-year olds said radio was the primary place they found out about new music. Traditional retailers came in second, at 21%. Internet radio was the reply for 11% of 35-54s.
The picture changes dramatically when looking at the under-35 demos: For those 18-34, traditional radio was the primary source for new music of just 35% of the age group. P2Ps -- both legal and non-law-abiding -- ranked second, at 25%. Internet radio was the choice of 18% of 18-34s, while online networks was the response for 13% of the 18-34s interviewed by Bridge.
For teens, radio was the top source for discovering new music for 38% of those queried. In a troubling sign for music retailers, P2Ps were the top choice for learning about new music for 29% of the survey participants aged 12-17. At the same time, just 2% of teens said they learned about new music from traditional retailers.
"As far as a new music discovery, teens have a stronger affinity for online virtual community networks like Myspace.com and P2P trading than other demographics do," Bridge Ratings President Dave Van Dyke says. "But a significant number of teens still discover new music through their current-based terrestrial radio stations."
Meanwhile, overall listening to Internet radio stations fell from Bridge's first new-music-source study -- something Van Dyke says may be the result of the growing popularity of such websites as Myspace.com. |