Radio is still the medium most people use to discover music, but video-sharing site YouTube is the top choice for teens. That's right: Not iTunes or Spotify or Pandora but YouTube, home to official and unofficial music videos by the truckload.
The info comes from Nielsen's "Music 360" report, which says that while 7 percent of us use YouTube for music, 64 percent of teens do. Next in line for teens is: radio, 56 percent; Apple's iTunes, 53 percent; and then CDs, 50 percent.
YouTube's music appeal comes, in part, from its many channels of offerings, including pop, country, hip hop and rock.
Nielsen's report is based on 3,000 online consumer surveys. While radio continues to be the way 48 percent said they discover music, another 10 percent said they do so through friends or relatives who recommend a song.
The accessibility of music has seen tremendous expansion and diversification,” said David Bakula of Nielsen, in a statement. "While younger listeners opt for technologically advanced methods, traditional methods of discovery like radio and word-of-mouth continue to be strong drivers."
Among Nielsen's other findings:
- Digital music is seen as a "slightly better value" than a physical CD, 63 percent to 61 percent.
- "Younger" consumers who buy digital tracks are more likely to buy new music "immediately after" it's released, with 33 percent of teens doing so within one week of release, compared to 21 percent of those ages 18 and older.
- 36 percent of teens say they bought a CD in the last year; 51 percent said they've bought music via download.
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