A YouGov Report into music consumption reveals that listening to CDs is more popular than listening to the radio or to digital downloads.
Almost three quarters (74%) of the British population listened to CDs they owned over the six months leading up to the survey. Although slightly more people (77%) listened to car radios over the same period, more of the British public prefer to listen to CDs than the radio.
- 68% of people prefer to listen to CDs of their own
- 64% favour listening to music on their car radio
- Less than a quarter of the public (24%) prefer to listen to music through a portable DAB radio
- Only one in ten people (10%) would choose to listen to music through radio streamed over the internet
The market intelligence report also found that listening to CDs is twice as popular as listening to digital downloads. However, listening to downloaded digital music is three times as common as listening to free streamed music and over four times as common as listening to music obtained through file sharing sites.
- 34% of the population prefer to listen to music through digital downloads, compared with 68% who favour listening to CDs
- Whereas almost half (43%) of those surveyed listened to downloaded digital music they either bought or borrowed in the past six months, only around one sixth (15%) of people listened to free streamed music over this period.
- Only one in ten (10%) listened to music they have downloaded through file sharing sites in the six months prior to the survey
The most popular explanations given as to why people prefer to listen to music in a downloadable digital format rather than free streaming and file sharing are that they are able to listen to music without interruptions from advertisements and without being harnessed into an internet connection.
Age differences
The YouGov Report also shows a significant age divide, with men and women aged 40+ being significantly more likely to listen to CDs than those aged 16-39. Watching music videos online is the most common way that 16-24 year olds listen to music.
- 77% of men aged 55 and over, and 78% of men aged 40-54 prefer to listen to CDs of their own, compared with 59% of 25-39 year old males and 41% of 16-24 year old males
- Over three quarters (78%) of women aged 55+ and three quarters (75%) of women aged 40-54 favour listening to CDs, while less than two thirds (62%) of females aged 25-39 and fewer than half (49%) of females aged 16-24 would choose to listen to CDs
- More than three quarters (76%) of 16-24 year olds have watched music videos online over the last six months, compared to 58% who have listened to CDs
