What is spoken audio? Well, it's any audio content that isn't music. Podcasts, radios, books... spoken audio takes many forms. To help you familiarize yourself with the habits of those who consume it, here are its statistics worldwide.
Digital audio figures
Listening to digital audio means that this content is available online. This type of audio has a much stronger impact on the brain than radio:
- Emotion is better perceived (+25% emotional intensity)
- Memorizes more easily (+25% overall memory)
- significantly increased engagement (+23% engagement)
Digital audio is so popular that listeners are willing to pay for it: nearly1 in 2 Americans pay for an audio subscription. What's more, an American adult listens to digital audio for an average of 1 hour and 34 minutes a day. Even children consume this type of audio in the USA: 73% of those over 12 listened to online audio this month. In Australia, the figure is 71%.
Who listens to the audio?
Every day, 45% of Americans over 13 listen to spoken audio content on a daily basis. They listen for an average of 2 hours and 6 minutes a day.
Spoken word audio has grown rapidly in recent years: 51% of Americans who consume spoken word audio say they listen to more of it than they did 5 years ago.
You should know that :
- Americans aged 13-34 devote 26% of their digital listening time to spoken audio
- For Americans aged 34-54, this figure rises to 30%.
- For Americans aged 55 and over, spoken audio accounts for 28% of their digital listening time.
Why do people like listening to spoken audio?
For 71% of users, the main reason they like spoken audio is that it allows them tomultitask.
Of course, there are others like :
- Make it easier to process information (60%)
- Prefer listening to reading (56%)
- A need to stay informed (52%)
For the same panel of people :
- 54% say spoken audio engages their minds in a more positive way than other media
- 55% say spoken audio is becoming an increasingly important part of their lives
Where and how do listeners hear spoken audio?
Americans listen to various types of spoken audio:
- AM/FM radio (48%)
- Podcasts (22%)
- Audio books (10%)
- Other platforms (20%)
What's more, they eat them in different places:
- At home (54%)
- In the car (30%)
- At work (13%)
- Elsewhere (3%)
59% of the US population claim to have used internet search to discover new spoken audio content.
Audio and information
By 2022, 80% of news leaders plan to devote significantly more resources to digital audio and podcasts. And did you know? In the U.S., news/information is the most popular spoken audio topic (56% of users listen to it).
In addition, news podcasts account for only 7% of all podcasts recorded. However, among the best podcasts in the USA, they account for 30%.
Podcast figures
Traditional media are losing their audience among young people. Among millennials and Generation Z40% trust podcasts more than traditional media.
Today, millions of episodes are available worldwide. On Apple Podcasts alone, in June 2022, there will be over 67.4 million episodes.
Last month, 34% of the world's population listened to at least 1 podcast:
- 37% in the United States
- 52% in South Korea
- 44% in Sweden
- 25% in the UK
- 29% in France
- 34% in Argentina
- 33% in Australia
- 41% in Spain
- 33% in Singapore
Although podcasts are very popular with young people, all age groups consume them. In the U.S., for example, the share of monthly podcast listeners is :
- 47% for the 12-34 age group
- 33% for the 35-54 age group
- 20% for over-55s
Figures on audio articles* (in French)
"Audio formats are one of the best ways to tell a story"; that's what 69% of millennials and 61% of Gen Z members say.
"Audio amplifies far more perspectives than traditional media"; that's what 52% of Gen Zers and 62% of millennials think.
It's fair to say that the audio article greatly appeals to the interest and curiosity of users:
- An auditor is 32% more likely to engage in multiple sessions than a non-auditor.
- Those who don't listen to audio articles spend an average of 30 seconds on site.Listeners stay an average of 322 seconds (+973%).
- 35-54 year-olds who launch audiostay on the page 9 times longer than those who don't
- Those over 55 who press play visit 1.5 times more pages than those who don't
*BeyondWords AI audio article statistics
Audiobook figures
A UK survey shows that 44% of adults listen to audio books in their spare time. 27% of them consume them at least once a week. These include :
- 72% say listening stimulates their brain
- 70% say listening to a book makes them feel less stressed
- 67% say listening comforts them when they're depressed
In the United States, in 2021, 54% of the population over the age of 12 will listen to an audiobook. Among this panel of people, 38% subscribe to an audiobook service.
According to employed listeners, the main benefits of audiobooks are :
- Listening to the narration (26%)
- Time savings and accessibility (26%)
They also claim to listen to audio books when they :
- By car (31%)
- Do housework or DIY (25%)
- Do some physical activity (18%)
- Walk (10%)
Radio figures
In the UK, radio is a very popular medium. 89% of the population listen to it every week for an average of 20.2 hours.
In Ireland, 80% of adults listen to the radio every day. They listen for an average of 13.1 million hours.
In the United States, 80% of adults listen to the radio every week. That's an average of 12.2 hours per week per person.
In eight international markets, 77% of the population listened to the radio last week.
Graphics
