Indian women prefer to listen to free music online according to a recent YouGov survey into ‘How do urban Indian women listen to music?’ The survey revealed that streaming free music online is the most popular way to listen to music among urban Indian women (with 41% saying so). It is more common than listening to music via a paid service (30%). While free music online is more popular among women between 21-29 years (45%), paying for music is more common among women between 30-39 years as compared to others (at 36%).
Urban Indian women also show a preference for music available on video streaming sites (39%) and downloadable music using file sharing sites (38%). Listening to music radio in a car (34%) or internet radio (33%) are also popular among women. In comparison to this, traditional ways of listening to music, such as on CDs (17%), portable radio (15%) or on vinyl (9%) seem to be less popular. Whether paid or free, streaming music is common among urban Indian women and 56% of them agree that they primarily listen to music through streaming services. They also listen to podcasts, with music being their most preferred genre. Within music genres, 90s music tops the charts among women, followed by classical and pop music.
Recent data from YouGov’s Global Media Outlook Report 2022 shows the pandemic fuelled a global growth in streaming music in the past year, and it is likely to grow further in the future. In India, while consumption increased for both genders in the past 12 months, a higher number of women than men claim to increase their consumption of streaming music in the next twelve months (52% women vs 47% men). Similarly, consumption of podcasts is also expected to grow for this cohort as a third (33%) of women said they intend to increase consumption in the future.
32% of women in India currently own a music subscription and are likely to continue next year, with an additional 22% who currently do not have but are considering getting a subscription in the next 12 months. Women are happy to spend on music but prefer to share or group subscriptions. Nearly half (45%) are happy to spend money to support their favourite music artists (45%). Just as many (45%) find it more convenient to share a subscription for video and streaming services with others.
Availability of free music and subscription fatigue could be a reason for choosing free over paid music. 37% of women feel they have too many subscriptions to things (Netflix, Spotify etc.). This is notably higher among women between 30-39 years (at 43%). Furthermore, three in five women (62%) agree that ‘video and music streaming services should offer more group subscriptions’, suggesting that their willingness to pay may be related to perceptions of convenience and value.
