According to a new report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, music lovers around the world spend 20.7 hours a week listening to music – more than the 20.1 hours recorded by the trade association last year.
This difference is equivalent to 13 additional three-minute songs per week.
People listen to music while engaging, on average, in more than eight different activities; the most popular being mobility (car journeys, home-school/home-office commutes), relaxation, and digital life (surfing the web, social networks).
Indeed, music lends itself to every occasion, which is why 71% of the 44,000 internet users surveyed say music is important to their mental health. The proportion is particularly high among millennials (74%), as well as respondents from the Philippines (88%), South Africa (86%) and Brazil (83%).
Music fans generally have a taste for diversity, as more than half (57%) say they value the opportunity to listen to music from all over the world.
Internet users listened to an average of eight different musical genres this year, compared with seven in 2022, even though pop remains the most popular style worldwide, followed by rock and hip-hop/rap.
Spotify, Apple Music and other music-streaming platforms have a lot to gain from this more diverse consumption. Their ability to offer unlimited access to gigantic catalogues of tracks is a big selling point among music lovers.
In fact, it’s one of the three main arguments for subscribing to a paid online music service, with streaming audio accounting for 32% of listening time. That’s more than video streaming, radio, or music purchases (digital and physical).
Notably, young people don’t limit themselves to audio-streaming platforms to indulge their love of music. The overwhelming majority of 16- to 24-year-olds watch short videos on social networks to discover new tracks or artistes to listen to (82%).
In their eyes, video-streaming platforms and radio are also important sources of music listening, which goes to show that they don’t rule out any medium when it comes to discovering more music.