On today's episode, we discuss how Spotify did in Q1, what to make of its new subscriptions for podcasts, and how we expect audio consumption habits to change this year. We then talk about why people still listen to the radio and best practices for voice ads. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle.

Digital audio consumption followed a very similar pattern: More than two-thirds of the youngest cohort and 44.0% of affluents had streamed music, podcasts, or other digital audio material in the month prior; males were more likely than females to do so. Japan’s internet users spent an average of 2 hours, 45 minutes (2:45) per day with PCs and tablets in H1 2021.

Digital audio consumption experienced the opposite age-related pattern in H1 2021. Some 83.0% of internet users ages 16 to 24 had streamed music, podcasts, or another form of audio content in the prior month, but that share fell in near-direct correlation with rising age, to 52.0% in the most senior group. Income and household location were less significant factors in digital audio usage.

The same age-related pattern was evident in digital audio consumption. As in H1 2020, 65.4% of internet users polled had streamed music, podcasts, or other digital audio content in the prior month. Among those ages 16 to 24, that share was 94.9%; in the oldest group, ages 55 to 64, fewer than 40% were recent digital listeners.

Digital audio consumption may be suffering from the rise in other digital entertainment activities. The share of internet users who had listened to music, podcasts, or other audio content accessed online dropped from 91.8% in H1 2020 to 85.9% this year. Part of this decline may be due to the exclusion of Google Play Music from the list of monitored audio services in 2021.

A pandemic-fueled rise in digital video and audio consumption has continued into 2021. Broadcast TV still attracted a vast majority of internet users. As of Q1, 90.4% of those ages 16 to 64 had watched live TV in the prior month. More than three-quarters (78.2%) of respondents had used a TV channel’s catch-up or on-demand service, and nearly 57% had recorded TV programs to watch later.

Digital audio consumption includes listening to music, podcasts, or other audio content via internet-based audio streaming services within an app or website. That includes services like Apple Music or Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Pandora. It also includes listening to podcasts the user downloads, though excludes other downloaded audio files like music MP3s.

By contrast, consumption of music, podcasts, and other digital audio content was rather subdued, except in younger age groups. Nearly 90% of respondents ages 16 to 24 had listened to digital audio in the month prior to polling, but that share dropped by at least 10 percentage points with each decade of rising age, reaching just 40.6% in the oldest age bracket.

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.

Consumption of podcasts, which GWI measured for the first time in H1 2020, accounted for 1:12 each day in H1 2021.

Young consumers have led the way in terms of digital habits and consumption through the pandemic, but older age groups have been forced to catch up. Some old habits may die hard in these groups, but the digital future has definitely been hastened.

GlobalWebIndex found major age-related variations in digital audio consumption, too. Overall, 65.4% of internet users polled in Denmark streamed music, podcasts, or other digital audio content in the prior month, compared with 61.1% in H1 2019. But usage among those 16 to 24 remained far greater, approaching 93%.

Consumption of broadcast radio and print was also very high among 35- to 44-year-olds. Somewhat surprisingly, the share of internet users who had accessed music, podcasts, or other audio content online shrank slightly between H1 2020 and H1 2021, to 80.0%. Penetration declined in all demographics, though the change was very slight in some cases.

Notwithstanding the leap in video consumption, broadcast TV still claimed more daily time. While free and paid-for video viewing occupied an average 1 hour, 44 minutes (1:44) per day in H1 2021, live TV accounted for 2:35. Digital audio may have suffered from the increased attention paid to digital video.

Digital video consumption continues to outstrip TV viewing, however, with 94.7% of China’s internet users accessing video-on-demand (VOD) services in the previous month. Respondents devoted an estimated 1 hour, 34 minutes (1:34) per day to online TV and video. And as in H1 2020, nearly 92% of respondents listened to digital audio, such as music or podcasts, and devoted 1:27 daily to music streaming.

Between H1 2020 and H1 2021, the share of internet users who streamed music, listened to podcasts, or consumed other online audio content declined slightly, from 78.9% to 75.1%. Time spent with digital audio and video both posted annual increases. For example, in H1 2021, internet users polled in Argentina spent an average of 1:14 daily with online TV and 1:45 with music streaming.

Yet the main cause is more likely the general surge in digital video consumption worldwide, which was already underway in 2019 and further accelerated by the pandemic. In keeping with that trend, smart TV penetration in Singapore climbed from 44.8% to 48.4% between 2020 and 2021. Digital audio apparently reached a smaller audience in 2021.

Paid-for video posted a quantum leap, too, though subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) consumption lagged video viewing overall. More than 55% of respondents had watched TV shows, films, or other video content from services like Netflix in the month prior, compared with 45.4% in H1 2019. By contrast, digital audio appeared less popular in 2021, as penetration dropped to 53.2%.

Yet nearly 71% of respondents had recently streamed music or accessed podcasts or other audio content from digital sources. And time spent with broadcast radio—an average of 46 minutes daily—was about half the 1:24 devoted to music streaming alone.

This year, 20.5% of all internet users polled owned such a product—perhaps a smart appliance, an energy consumption monitor, or a remotely-controlled security system. As in 2020, affluents and suburbanites were most likely to have a smart home device, posting penetration rates of 26.9% and 23.8%, respectively.

Younger people were more responsive to digital audio, too. But unlike digital video, uptake of music, podcasts, and other digital audio content showed no increase year over year. Time spent streaming music averaged 1:33 per day, while video streaming occupied an average of 1:22. Both times rose by about half an hour from H1 2020. Mobile time and activities were on the rise as PC penetration slid.