IFPI 2019 Music Listening Report: 5 Takeaways

A new report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) offers insights into the state of global music listening in 2019. The report is based on a survey of 34,000 people in 21 countries. The study was conducted in April and May 2019, and included music listeners from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as China and India, though results from the final two were not included in the IFPI’s ‘global’ figures.

Time spent listening to music has increased around the world, with listeners tuning an average of 18 hours per week, up from 2018’s 17.8-hour average. That equals more than 2.6 hours daily, and the equivalent of listening to 52 three-minute tracks.

Here are 5 additional takeaways from the report:

1. Streaming Popularity Continues To Grow

According to the report, the popularity of music streaming continues to surge globally, with 89% listening to music via on-demand streaming, with 64% indicating they had used audio streaming platforms such as Spotify, Deezer or Amazon—a 7% increase over last year.

      2. Older music listeners are increasingly adopting streaming

The highest rate of growth for use of streaming services is among users ages 35-64. 54% of users age 35-64 have used a music streaming service in the past month, an 8% growth over last year.

      3. Copyright infringement continues to be a threat

Though 52% of 16-24 year-olds indicated they are using paid streaming services, 23% of overall users reported that they use illegal stream ripping services in the past year.

      4. YouTube Reigns With Global Music Consumers

YouTube continues to be the world’s most popular music listening service, with 77% of those surveyed indicating they used the platform. Globally, 29% of music listening time was spent on radio, followed by smartphones (27%), computer/laptop (19%), hi-fi/turntables (8%), other (6%), portable bluetooth speakers (4%) and smart speakers (3%).

       5. Mexico Is Tops In Music Listening

People in Mexico listen to 25.6 hours of music a week, surpassing the global average of 18 hours.

When it comes to genres, pop and rock continue to dominate, taking the top two most popular genres slots globally. The rest of the Top 10 most-popular genres are as follows: 3.) oldies, 4.) hip-hop/rap, 5.) dance/electronic, 6.) indie/alternative, 7.) K-Pop, 8.) metal, 9.) R&B, and 10.) classical. It’s notable that music listeners ages 16-24 are four times as likely to choose hip-hop or rap as their favorite genres than any other age group.

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Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.

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