Americans are changing their listening habits with people spending more time listening to Spoken Word Audio at the expense of music listening according to The Spoken Word Audio Report. The study conducted by the NPR and Edison research found that share of time spent listening to spoken word audio has increased 20% since 2014, while time spent with music across the same period decreased 5%. This shift is led by a dramatic increase in spoken word audio listening on mobile phones, and increased listening among the 13-34 year age group.
Key findings from the Spoken Word Audio Report
- 121 million Americans listen to spoken word audio each day, an increase of 16 million people in the last five years.
- Growth in spoken word listening has been greatest among young people: those age 13-34 now spend 19% of their audio time with spoken word audio (up 58% from 2014).
- Mobile technology use is driving growth in spoken word audio category: 22% of listening to spoken word audio in 2019 is now on a mobile device, compared to 9% five years ago.
- Spoken word audio yields deep connections and involvement from its consumers, with large percentages of consumers reporting they turn to spoken word audio content for information, inspiration, entertainment, and companionship.
- 59% of spoken word audio listeners are digital-first, meaning they listen most through computers, mobile devices, and smart speakers. 41% are analogue-first, meaning they listen most through AM/FM radio receivers.
Meg Goldthwaite, NPR CMO, said, “Public media accounts for a large share of spoken word audio listening. New technologies like smart speakers, the ubiquity of mobile devices, and increased connectivity, mean that NPR’s journalism and storytelling is reaching more listeners in new spaces and platforms.”
Megan Lazovick, Edison Research Vice President, said, “Spoken word audio is different. Spoken word can be vastly more intensive listening experience than other types of audio. People lean in — they truly listen. 24% of all time spent listening to audio is going to spoken word, and that’s especially impressive considering where it was just five years ago.”
The full report, which draws from a US national quantitative survey and in-depth interviews, as well as five years of previously unreleased tracking data from Edison Research’s Share of Ear® study can be downloaded here.
NPR (National Public Radio) is an independent, non-profit media organization in the US that was founded on a mission to create a more informed public.
