June 30, 2020
80% of consumers have been accessing audio content on-line for over two years. They are beginning to settle into consumption behavior that provides a research roadmap for broadcast radio programmers. These roadmaps, if interpreted correctly, can improve audience engagement and ultimately audience ratings.
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Overall on-demand streaming - music consumption specifically selected by the listener - reflects typical highly popular music genres like Rock and Pop, but also categories that listeners can't find on the radio like Electronic Dance Music and Jazz.
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It's been clear with the hindsight of over two years of intense analysis that broadcast radio's approach to adding and playing songs is based on a number of factors including programmer gut instinct, which songs are being serviced by record labels and a range of music research.
The problem with each of these techniques is that none of them serves radio's best interest as it applies to understanding true music consumption behavior.
The only method capable of presenting actual consumption metrics is on-demand streaming. It's singular benefit is its ability to track music listening by virtue of millions of fans (of both radio and streaming) actively selecting the music they want to listen to.
And consumers who spend time listening to music on-demand, have a high degree of affinity with listening to the radio. In a recent Bridge Ratings study, over two-thirds of consumers 12-64 years of age in our panels spent more time listening to broadcast radio than they did listening to on-demand streaming. Applied to the radio business, this amazing technology provides the best option programmers have at not only understanding true music consumption by listeners, but also to properly aligning their on-air music with actual consumption.
We've also learned that of all the potential music research methodologies available to radio programmers (call-out research, sales tracking, auditorium testing, etc.) on-demand streaming is most closely aligned to listening to the radio.
It is because of this affinity between radio listeners and "streamies", that listener consumption as a function of on-demand streaming is more dependable as a method of determining true taste.
On-demand streaming can detect a song's popularity practically from the song's release.
It can also inform programmers when a song is a "mid-charter".
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All important data points for determining the timing with which to add, elevate exposure and slow or drop songs.
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Knowing which songs not to play is as important as knowing what the hits are and with on-demand streaming research programmers are armed with a powerful tool. With only a few weeks' experience, programmers we're working with quickly are able to spot mid-chart songs which may appear to be getting good or significant adds or airplay on the national published airplay charts but which are soft or lightly sampled on-demand.
With access to on-demand streaming data these days, programmers for both music and spoken-word radio formats see immediate reaction to topical and highly desired audio content. Both music streaming and podcast data support the concept that hits are often immediate and long-lasting. And while there are exceptions, generally this is the rule.
On-demand streaming data can also reveal an important convenant for today's programmers: over the long-term, trends in the most popular artists become evident. Based on research conducted by Bridge Ratings, "streamies" catalogue music downloads based on experience from three audio sources: 1) broadcast radio, 2) on-demand streaming and 3) word of mouth from friends or relatives.
Building playlists has become a national pastime for music fans regardless of the platform listened to. Creating playlists based on their own Greatest Hits collection, favorite albums and favorite artists are three of the most-often used methods of creating playlists.
This is why a key area of insight for music programmers today is being able to discern what audiences listen to often and over time.
“Both audio platforms (on-demand streaming and podcasting) can benefit from each other in observing and analyzing the behavior of each other’s listeners.”
Other tactical areas which can be strengthened with on-demand streaming data:
Our podcasting clients are benefiting from on-demand consumption data in a number of ways. One of the most popular is being able to determine weekly - even daily - topic or information categories of interest.
A recent analysis of podcasting subject matter resulted in this pyramid graphic defining popularity based on percentage of podcast listeners:
There is much synergy among consumers who listen to broadcast radio and who are heavy or medium users of on-demand audio content. In most cases, our streaming and broadcast listener panelists used both technologies in a symbiotic manner, i.e. broadcast radio content often or very often led them to seek out specific types of content (music or spoken word) on a streaming or podcast platform and, in return, audio content experienced on-line often or very often was a cause for seeking out that type of content on the radio.
With that in mind, both audio platforms can benefit from each other in observing and analyzing the behavior of each other's listeners.
1. Which genres are most popular
2. Which songs to emphasize
3. Which songs to avoid
4. Which artists are core to their music format
5. When to add songs to the playlist
6. Reducing or eliminating songs based on streaming behavior
7. For spoken word radio, podcasting is a treasure trove of listener interest (topics, news and popular subject matter)