This is a complete list of the latest stats on people listening to music in 2024. The average time spent listening to music is increasing, and if you want data on: How much time do people spend listening to music per year? How many songs an average person hears in a lifetime? What is the longest time spent listening to music on Spotify? Listening habits by age group And more… Then you have to read this up-to-date list of important stats on music listening: Time Spent Listening to Music Statistics (Top Picks) What’s the average time spent listening to music per year? How many songs does an average person listen to in a lifetime? How long would it take to listen to every song in the world? How many people listen to music? What are the highest minutes listened on Spotify? Why do people listen to music? Time Spent Listening to Music Statistics (Top Picks) An average person listens to 961 hours and 10 minutes of music per year. An average person hears roughly 1.3 million songs in their lifetime. It would take over 600 years to listen to every song in the world. Roughly 7.11 billion people listen to music. Over 403,418 minutes is the longest time spent listening to music on Spotify Listening to music reduces pain, anxiety, blood pressure, releases dopamine, and improves sleep, alertness, and memory. The average time listening to music per year An average person listens to 961 hours and 10 minutes of music per year. How much music does an average person listen to per week? An average person listens to 18.4 hours of music per week. How much time is that per month? This equals to an average person listening to music for 78 hours and 51 minutes in a 30-day month. An average person hears 1577 3-minute songs every month. How much time is that per day? 2 hours and 38 minutes of music listening per day. This is equivalent to 52 and a half 3-minute songs per day. According to IFPI, the time spent listening to music worldwide increases each year. YearHours spent listening to music (IFPI)2022No data released202118.4 hours per week2020Data not available due to pandemic201918 hours per week201817.8 hours per week The positive trend of time spent listening to music shows that people enjoy more music. Music streaming is becoming more easily available globally, incentivizing people to listen to it more. How much time does an average American spend listening to music? People in the US spend 26.9 hours per week listening to music on average. This averages to 3 hours and 50 minutes of music listening per day. And in a whole month, an average American listens to 115 hours and 12 minutes of music in a 30-day month. This is quite a bit more than an average person globally. But it isn’t a surprise as: 62% of Americans consider themselves music lovers or music fanatics. The percentage is among the highest of all countries, only surpassed by South Africa, with 75% of people asked claiming they’re music lovers. There’s a wide availability of music streaming services and fast mobile internet in the US. Combine it with the latest gadgets like smartphones, headphones, earbuds, and Bluetooth speakers, and it’s no surprise Americans spend so much time enjoying music. But the trend in the US is reversing as people spend less time listening to music than in past years: YearTime spent listening to music201926.9 hours per week201828.3 hours per week201732.1 hours per week The trend coincides with the data showing Americans have been spending more time watching TV. More than 2/3 of adults between 18- and 34-years old listen to music every day. The majority of their older peers also listen to music daily, but the percentage goes down with age. There are almost 3 times as many avid music fans aged 18-29 years old than adults aged over 65 years. How many songs does the average person listen to in a lifetime? An average person hears roughly 1.3 million songs in their lifetime. More specifically, 1,299,340 songs for an average person with an average lifespan. The length of life and music listening habits can dramatically change the number. This calculation is based on average music listening data from IFPI. We considered the average song length of 3 minutes and 30 seconds from Billboard Hot 100 charts. We took the average life expectancy of 79 years in a developed country from Population Reference Bureau data. How much music does the average teenager listen to in a day? Teenagers listen to music for 2 hours and 5 minutes as a sole activity per day. This time doesn’t include listening to music passively when watching TV or driving in a car but solely actively listening to music. The Common Sense Media survey also found that girls like listening to music more (73%) than boys (59%). 82% of teens say they listen to music every day. More than other media activities like watching videos (69%) or using social media (63%). Overall, a typical kid spends 2.5 hours listening to music per day which is a bit less than adults. The American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is seeing an increase in time spent listening to music among children and found many positive impacts. Children who attend a music class for 30 weeks develop significantly higher IQ levels and better marks on standardized tests. And nearly all of the high-school winners in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science, and Technology play at least one instrument. More teen data: Teen & Kids Screen Time Statistics Teen Spending Statistics How long would it take to listen to every song in the world? It would take over 600 years to listen to every song in the world. Considering the extensive Apple Music library has over 90 million songs, and the average song length is 3.5 minutes. In other words, it would take almost 8 human lifetimes to listen to all the songs while listening to each song only once. This estimate is based on the Apple Music library, which has more songs than Spotify at 82 million. And the average length of a song at 3 minutes 30 seconds as per Billboard data. Plus, we have to assume there are actually more songs than that in the world that aren’t on the platform. How many people listen to music? Roughly 7.11 billion people listen to music. Practically everyone living on our planet is listening to music, and the number is growing each year with population growth. What percentage of the world listens to music? 90% of the world’s population listens to music, according to Nielsen Music 360. According to new report from Nielsen, the share of people who listen to music globally hovers around 90-93%. This is no surprise, as music is a universal language. How many people are subscribed to a music streaming service to listen to music? 616.2 million people are subscribed to one of the music streaming services worldwide. Year# of people subscribed to a streaming service2022616.2 million2021487 million2020443 million2019341 million According to Statista, the 2022 number of subscribers increased from the previous year. Music streaming exploded in the past years as more people get access to the technology. How many people listen to music daily? Over 315 million or 95.6% of Americans over 13 years old listen to audio daily. According to SXM Media, a big majority of the American population listens to music every day. They do it 4.8 times per day and on 2 different platforms with 2 different devices. Most commonly on the radio in their car and with music streaming services via their smartphone. And it’s no surprise as it has been proven that: Listening to music releases dopamine and endorphins. Dopamine (happiness hormones) helps with feeling happy about your life, and endorphins (stress and pain relief hormones) help you deal with stress and relieve pain (Silver Pines Treatment Center) How do people listen to music? Over 50% of all music is consumed via streaming. IFPI research finds that streaming is the most popular way of listening to music. 23% Subscription music streaming (Apple Music, Spotify Premium, Amazon Music, etc.) 22% Video music streaming (YouTube, DailyMotion, etc.) 16% Radio (broadcast radio, internet radio, etc) 11% Short video apps (TikTok) 9% Ad-supported music streaming (Free Spotify, Deezer, etc.) 9% Purchased music (CDs, vinyl, paid downloads, etc.) 5% Other forms of music (TV, on-demand video, etc.) 3% Social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) 2% Live (live concerts, live streaming, etc.) Music streaming revenue grew at: GrowthYearof Global Revenue10.3%202267%24.3%202165%Source: IFPI 41% of Americans listen to music via streaming services, according to a CBS News poll in 2021. Source of musicPercentage of US listeners in 2021Percentage of US listeners in 2017Streaming41%32%Radio31%36%Digital files15%18%CD/cassette/vinyl7%10%(CBS News) US listeners aged 18-34 are the likeliest to consume music via streaming services. 61% of them use streaming services to listen to music. Age groupPercentage of US music streaming users (from a group)18-3461%35-4459%45-5444%55-6427%65+10%(CBS News) On the other hand, US listeners aged 65+ are the likeliest to consume music via radio (55%). Age groupPercentage of US radio listeners (from a group)18-3413%35-4416%45-5428%55-6449%65+55%(CBS News) When do people listen to music the most? People listen to music the most between 4 pm and 8 pm. This is after they come home from work and spend more time relaxing. Where do people listen to music? People generally listen to music in a car (66%) followed by at home (63%). Here’s a table of where and when people listen to music: Favorite places for music listeningPercentage of listenersIn the car66%Relaxing at home63%Commuting to work or education54%Cooking and cleaning54%Working or studying40%Exercising or at the gym36%At the concerts or festivals36%Going to sleep19%(source: IFPI 3) Listening to music at home and when working is common, but many people also listen to it before sleeping. What about young people? Younger listeners are listening to more music but at fewer places: Favorite places for youngsters to listen to musicPercentage of listenersCommuting or education72%Relaxing at home69%Going to sleep30%(source: IFPI 3) Sources: IFPI 1, IFPI 2, IFPI 3 Statista 1, Statista 2, Billboard 2d, Statista 3, Nielsen, SXM Media, Silver Pines Treatment Center, Common Sense Media, CBS News How many people listen to country music? Almost 50% of Americans said they listen to Country music. Country music is more popular than you might think. According to a Deezer survey of US respondents, it was the 3rd most listened to genre at 49.9%, right after Rock at 56.8%, and Pop at 56.1%. Roughly 165 million people listen to Country music in the US. Though this data doesn’t mean it’s their favorite genre, it still shows people generally enjoy it. Country is the #1 most popular music genre in the following US states (Grizzly Rose): Alabama Alaska Arkansas Idaho Nebraska New Hampshire Pennsylvania Utah Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin Origins of Country music In the early 21st century, country music originally started in the working-class American population living in southern states. European and African influences combined fiddle songs and West African banjo to create a distinct music genre. How many people listen to hip hop & rap music? 37.4% of US respondents said they listen to hip hop. According to a Deezer survey, hip hop was the 5th most listened-to music genre among the general population. But hip hop and rap dominate in album consumption (BuzzAngle Music). Hip-Hop/Rap albums are the most sold in the US, with 21.7% of all sold music. That’s more than the 2nd most sold music genre, Pop, at 20.1%. Hip hop and rap are particularly popular among young people aged 16 – 34 years old, after which it drops down proportionately with age. 54% of 20-24 age group say they generally like hip hop and rap. While only 5% of people over 55 years old say the same. But since young people prefer to listen to music via streaming, their tastes significantly impact rankings. 52% of the 100 most streamed songs were hip hop or rap in 2019. How many people listen to classical music? Over 90.3 million or 35% of American adults listen to Classical music. MIDiA Research study found that 29% (nearly a third) of the Classical music audience is under 35 years old. Though the majority of the fans are still 55 years old or older. It’s the least popular among 16 – 19-year-olds. What are the most common ways of listening to classical music? Radio is the most popular way to listen to Classical music. On average, 190,000 Americans listen to a Classical music radio station at any given moment. Almost 11 million Americans listen to classical music on the radio at least once per week. Globally the data is: 40% listen to classical music on a radio 35% listen to the genre a CD 3rd most common way is to stream it via YouTube A non-negligible 11% use vinyl records Young people increasingly seek classical music to relax, work, and focus. Deezer reported a 270% increase in the subscription to their most popular classical music playlist, with 43% of new subs being millennials (BBC) Listening to classical music boosts brain functions like learning and memory. A study from the Department of Medical Genetics in Helsinki found many benefits of listening to classical music after just 20 minutes per day (PeerJ). Sources: Statista 4, Grizzly Rose, BuzzAngle Music, Classical Music Rising, MIDiA Research, BBC, PeerJ What is the average time listened to music by streaming service? In North America, users spend 2 hours 44 minutes per day listening to Apple Music which is more than Spotify. On average, that means music streaming users spend 19.11 hours per week or 81.9 hours in a 30-day month (Statista 5). Apple Music and Spotify battle for domination in the US and Canada. When it comes to time spent listening to streaming music, Apple Music is winning. On the other hand, Spotify has more global users. What are the average minutes people listen to music on Spotify? Spotify users, on average, spend 25 hours per month listening to music. 44% of Spotify users access the app daily. What are the highest minutes listened on Spotify? Over 403,418 minutes is the longest time spent listening to music on Spotify by the @indrahartmann in December 2021. Today the number is probably higher. That’s over 280 days spent on music listening alone. How many minutes of music do you have to listen to be in the top 0.005% of listeners on Spotify? The number changes from musician to musician, but if you wanted to be a Taylor Swift top 0.005% listener, you’d need over 30,000 minutes listening to her music. To reach her top 2%, you’d only need 1,500 minutes. Keep in mind the trends change, and these numbers fluctuate. You’ll likely need more or fewer minutes in the future, depending on her popularity (Pop Buzz). What is the average number of songs in an album? An album has between 9 and 12 tracks on average, but many are shorter or longer. While the average number of songs in an album gives us a general idea, there is no rule for how long an album should be. (Routenote). The 2022 best-selling album “Un Verano Sin Ti” from Bad Bunny has 23 tracks. The 2021 best-selling album Adele’s “30” has 12 tracks. What’s the longest album ever recorded? You need 4 hours, 49 minutes 20 seconds to listen to 111 tracks in the longest-recorded album “MEN” by Quiet Marauder. The average song length in the “MEN” album is 2.6 minutes (WalesOnline). But the longest-ever digital album is: “500X30 Morse Code Days In Lockdown” by Mark Christopher Lee and The Pocket Gods with 1000 tracks in 2022. They’ve held the Guinness World record a couple of times and regained it with the 1000 behemoth album release in February 2022 (Guinness World Records). But their album is only digital and not recorded. Sources: Statista 5, GoodWaterCap, Pop Buzz, Routenote, WalesOnline, Guinness World Records Why Do People Listen To Music? Listening to music reduces pain, anxiety, blood pressure, releases dopamine, improves sleep, alertness and memory. Basically, music makes people happier and feel better due to releasing happiness and painkiller hormones (dopamine & endorphins). Research shows many benefits of listening to music which explains why it’s a universal activity (John Hopkins Medicine). According to psychological research, people listen to music to balance their mood, realize self-awareness, and express social relations. Psychologists are calling these the Big Three (reasons) for music listening. They also found that the expression of social relatedness is considerably less important than the other two reasons (National Library of Medicine). Who’s a melomaniac? A melomaniac is a person with exceptional love for music. It originates from the Greek word “melos” for a song and the Greek word “maniakos” for madness or mad desire. Why do people listen to sad music when they are in a bad mood? One of the main reasons people listen to sad music when they’re in a bad mood is that they feel some kind of connection to the lyrics, melody, and emotions in a song and want to amplify it. People want to amplify negative emotions due to hormone response after the session when prolactin and oxytocin make you feel calm and soothe the pain (Psychologs). It’s also a reason why people feel better after a good cry. It’s all chemistry. On the other hand, happy music makes us feel better and more comfortable because our brains produce dopamine and serotonin hormones. Why do people listen to classical music? People listen to classical music when they want to relax, focus and get energy for work. It also increases mental alertness and memory (National Library of medicine 2). Classical music has a calming effect and helps reduce nervousness, jitters, anxiety, and high heart rate (AIRE). Why do people listen to loud music? People listen to loud music to relieve stress. Loud music stimulates the inner ear part called the “sacculus,” which releases endorphins and makes us feel better. The sacculus is especially stimulated by low frequencies or bass. This is why people like a “good beat” and “rumbling bass” and why bass headphones and bass earbuds are so popular. Loud music also drowns out the world, evokes emotion, and increases heart rate. It even improves physical performance, which is the reason for loud, bass-heavy music in gyms (New Scientist). Sources: John Hopkins Medicine, National Library of Medicine, Psychologs, National Library of Medicine 2, AIRE, New Scientist Types of music listeners Casual listeners – are passive listeners who listen to popular music and don’t have a strong preference for genres. Average listeners – are often actively looking for new music and have a developed preference for music genres but don’t spend an extraordinary amount of time or money on it. Music critics – are knowledgeable and passionate about a specific music genre and feel like their opinion matters more than others. Audiophiles – have developed music taste but focus more on the technical aspect of the sound quality and know all about headphones and speakers. Melomaniacs – or music addicts who listen to music non-stop every day and strongly prefer genres and artists. What music do Americans love the most? Hip hop, rap, and R&B are the most popular music genres in America, representing 31.1% of streamed music consumption in the US. While there isn’t a hard line between hip hop, rap, and R&B, the category is often used interchangeably, and it’s the most popular genre among Americans. Rock is the second most popular, with 15.6% of streams coming rock genre (Statista 6) Sources: Statista 6, Global Music Report IFPI Read more: Music streaming data Apple Music stats Amazon Music stats SoundCloud stats Conclusion Thanks for checking our list on time spent listening to music stats. Some people are truly music maniacs who spend an ever-increasing time enjoying music. An average person isn’t far behind. Do you think we missed answering any questions you’d like data on? Let us know in the comments below. Matija FerjanMatija Ferjan is a seasoned audio enthusiast reviewing headphones since 2015. He has personally tested hundreds of headphones and earbuds. He’s an active member of the Headphone Audio community and a true nitpicker, always looking for the “best-value-for-money” headphones.
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