Consumption of music, podcasts, and other digital audio was relatively flat YoY. Some 58.4% of internet users had streamed digital audio content in the month prior to polling. Age was a key differentiator here; penetration in the youngest cohort reached 91.8% in H1, but that fell markedly with rising age, to just 30.8% in the oldest group.

Penetration of digital audio—such as music, audiobooks, and podcasts—passed 80% in H1 2020 but fell to 73.9% this year. Usage was still greatest among the youngest cohorts and lowest in the 55-to-64 age bracket, at 55.2%. Some smart devices held little appeal, but voice assistants and game consoles posted gains in 2021. Smartwatch ownership was up only modestly in H1 2021, to 17.5%.

Young people were also keener consumers of online music, audiobooks, and other digital audio content in H1 2021, though older cohorts closed the gap to some extent. Among respondents ages 55 to 64, 33.8% had streamed digital audio in the prior month, compared with 24.6% in the prior year. Usage among the 16-to-24 cohort was almost identical to their share in H1 2020, at 77.6%.

, mail-order sales, etc.); digital download sales (movies, music, content, etc.); consumer-to-consumer (C2C) platform sales (eBay, auction sites, etc.).

The most popular activities conducted via voice assistant are asking questions, checking the weather, and playing music. About a third of US voice assistant users reported regularly initiating those activities in a May 2021 study by Vixen Labs.

However, unlike movies, TV, sports, and music, podcasts are very difficult to enjoy if the listener does not understand the language spoken by the content creator. This reality is shaping the development of podcast audiences across the globe. Led by the US, countries with primarily English-speaking populations have embraced podcasts the most deeply.

This includes users who stream music, digital audio, and podcasts. The number of podcast listeners has grown by double digits in the past few years as podcast networks have expanded, offering near-unlimited choices for even the most niche topics. An additional 900,000 listeners will join the ranks in 2022, and podcast listeners will represent over one-third of internet users for the first time.