Time Spent Listening
Amongst other upward trends in the most recent Radio Survey, eagle-eyed researchers noticed that Time Spent Listening for the ‘iPod generation’ (All People 18-34), increased by 20mins to 17hr 37mins per week. [1]
Over in the UK, the RAB have been pointing out the complimentary roles of the radio and the iPod since their Discovery and Recovery study in 2006 [2] and more recently in the US, studies by both Nielsen and Arbitron agreed that there was a huge and underestimated rate of listenership amongst the ‘iPod generation.’
Arbitron’s September release of its annual Radio Today study [3] confirmed that more than 90 percent of consumers 12+ listen to the radio every week; greater penetration than TV, magazines, newspapers, or the Internet. In the same month Nielsen revealed similar findings from its 2008 survey that included cell phone only (CPO) households for the first time. [4]
Despite accounting for 15% of the sample group (total size 119,000), CPOs had previously been left out of U.S. radio audience measurement. The Nielsen study revealed that the CPO group skews toward younger, tech-savvy consumers who tuned in to radio even more than 18-34 year olds, with a TSL of 23 hours per week.
Age Relevance
“By measuring the listening habits of 98 percent of the population instead of the 65 percent that we have been getting, Nielsen has dispelled many of the harmful untruths that have plagued our medium among the ad buying community," stated Cumulus Radio COO Lew Dickey [5]. "Most notable is the notion that radio has lost its hipness* and relevance among younger audiences. Nielsen’s data proves that this is clearly not the case and it will clearly lead to a stronger appreciation of radio over time."
Study after study has shown that Radio still holds relevance for younger audiences, so why do some people still believe those “harmful untruths”? Part of the problem stems from the age gap between the media pundits and the very group whose media habits they are making assumptions about. But we all know what they say about assumptions. So, why not let the generation speak for themselves? Over in the UK again, Ofcom’s ‘The iPod Generation’ study did just that. [6]
Speaking for Themselves
With a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods, the research allowed the iPod generation to explain why they still listened to Radio as well as their iPods. Radio’s ability to provide company (in a way that music alone cannot), was one commonly given reason for complimentary listening. The human voice of a favoured DJ was cited as providing a sense of comfort, being entertaining & bringing humour into the day, a great accompaniment to other activities and an important way of filling the silence, (this latter point is “especially important for this generation who have grown up with the constant buzz of streaming media noise.” [7])
Moreover, this is a generation who (perhaps more than any other) recognise the specific functions of radio. The survey groups particularly cited the following functions: mood management (getting you ‘up’ literally in the morning, and psychologically before a night out), stress relief/chilling you out (driving home or on Sunday morning) and of course information (a source of easily digestible news; traffic & travel updates; gigs, reviews and events). Finally, there’s the discovery function; for this generation, Radio provides opportunities to not only hear new music and discover new artists, but also to ‘discover’ previously unheard old music from years gone by.
Of course, being the iPod Generation, this is a group that doesn’t restrict their Radio enjoyment to FM. Radio podcasts, streaming Radio and ‘tuning in’ via mobile phones are all natural activities; ease of access is key to this audience and The Edge have just made listening to their shows even easier.
Never Lose The Edge
In acknowledgement of the complimentary dual roles of the iPod and Radio, The Edge recently created a free application for the iPhone with which people can stream and listen to the station wherever they are around the world. Wherever there's 3G coverage or Wi-Fi, audiences can listen to the Edge - and they can keep on listening when their phone is locked, as well as automatically resuming play after an incoming call or when returning from another application.
Programme Director Leon Wratt says “The Edge brand is about innovation and we are excited to be the first radio station outside the US to utilise this application ….The fact listeners can download the app for free makes it all the more compelling for them to tune in.”
Wherever they listen, on whatever platform and in whatever format, the fact is that the iPod Generation are still very much in tune with Radio.
* TRB sincerely apologises for the terribly unhip use of the word “hipness” in this article!
[1] Research International National Survey: T2 2009
[2] The RAB UK 2006: Discovery and Recovery summarized in 2 lines 'iPods are great for known music recovery but Radio is better for new music discovery.'
[3] Arbitron US September 2009: Radio Today
[4] Nielsen US Radio Ratings 2008
[5] Cumulus Media is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States.
[6] Ofcom UK 2004: The iPod Generation
[7] ibid page 26