Another Year of Audio Growth - Are Brands Maximising the Opportunities?

Are Brands Maximising the Opportunities that Audio Has to Offer?
New research throughout 2024 has reaffirmed the growing effectiveness of audio, with a wealth of insights from leading sources. It’s clear that getting the right audio strategy in place for brands, and taking a long-term approach is more important than ever. 

We take a look back at a few of the highlights from Edison Research, Nielsen, Spotify, Acast, Dolby and RAJAR and show how brands can make the most of the opportunities. 

Audio Listening Habits
Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2024 report - the longest-running survey of digital media consumer behaviour in America - found that over the past decade, Americans’ audio habits have shifted significantly, as more than 2/3rds of all Americans age 12+ now stream audio each week.

The research found that those aged 13+ now spend 20% of their audio day streaming music on platforms like Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, and Spotify. YouTube accounts for 14% of their music listening time, while podcasts comprise 10%. Despite these changes, AM/FM radio remains the most significant slice of the audio day at 36%, primarily fuelled by in-car listening (more on that and the creative potential of in-car later).

Over in the UK, RAJAR reports that 96% of UK adults (15+) listen to audio every week spending an average of 27.5 hours a week engaging with audio.

One of the most significant shifts that brands should be aware of is among younger audiences; RAJAR found that 15-24 year olds were the only group where Music Streaming (44%) listenership was above Live Radio listenership (37%). Music streaming and podcasts increased weekly reach significantly above owned music which is in decline, whilst catch up radio remained relatively flat. 

In the third quarter of 2024, Spotify's monthly active users (MAUs) increased to 640 million globally, an 11% increase year-over-year.

The audience targeting opportunities that audio offers across music streaming, podcasts and digital radio is huge. Genre targeting, geo fencing, daypart; it all allows for incredible personalisation. Our in-house digital team specialise in creating bespoke digital assets that accompany audio advertising, because when the two are effectively combined we see powerful results. Spotify’s ‘What We Know’ research in ‘24 found that by combining video with audio ads we see an increase in purchase intent by 27% compared with audio alone, and incremental sales increase by 66%. They also found that Spotify ads captured 2x more attention than social media platforms.

Declining Social Media Usage and the Shift to Audio 
While audio continues to thrive, research company GWI recently found that consumers are spending less time on social media than last year, whilst notably in the UK Gen Z’s daily social media usage dropped to its lowest level since 2014. 

And in 2024, on X only 19% of Americans aged 12+ now use the platform, a 30% drop from 2023. Podcast listening has continued to rise, with now just under 100 million Americans listening weekly. This growth isn’t just about audience reach; it’s also delivering tangible business results. A June 2024 study by Acast and OMD found that podcast advertising delivers a return on ad spend (ROAS) of 4.9, outperforming traditional media channels. For every unit of currency invested in podcast ads, brands see a return of nearly five times that amount.

Whilst TikTok bucks the declining social trends, according to Sensor Tower’s early ‘25 research, if owners ByteDance struggle to land a deal or form a joint venture with a US company, US advertisers will need to pivot to other channels, and as the 4th largest social media platform (with 8% of all US ad spend in 2024) and a highly engaged and youthful user base, that's a massive shift in a demographic that a strong audio strategy could help to support.

And of all music streaming, a massive 62% of that is via headphones - providing the perfect listening environment to deliver personalised mixes, immersive 3D sound and other creative opportunities to that captive audience. The results speak for themselves; Acast’s Podcast Pulse shows that 84% of podcast listeners take action after hearing a brand promoted in a podcast-first campaign. Nearly 60% think more favourably about the brand, and 44% make a purchase. These levels of engagement and conversion help to make audio one of the most powerful tools in a brand’s media mix.

Technology and Listener Experience is Continuing to Evolve:
Dolby is paving the way for more consumers to take a drive with Dolby Atmos for cars, across luxury models, affordable sedans, electric vehicles, and traditional automobiles. The car is the ideal listening environment for creators to share rich, immersive audio story telling and captivate audiences while they’re on the go. 

Most streaming services can now detect when users are connected to a car, and so we can help brands to take advantage of this immersive listening experience and craft bespoke, high quality audio content that is served up accordingly.

The adoption of smart speakers is also continuing to grow, with smart speaker listening increasing 22% year on year (from 13.8% in Q3 2023 to 16.9% in Q3 2024). Again we have the opportunity to create bespoke ads specifically for smart speaker audiences.

In an Interview with Nielsen:
Bob Pittman, CEO and Chairman of iHeartMedia talked about the crucial role audio plays in marketing strategies, as he predicted "brand building and mass reach coming back in vogue" for 2025.

Pittman pointed out that "audio provides over 90% reach in a month, without the audience crossover risked by mixing other digital media… And the cost and reach of audio gives it a unique place in the media mix.” 

He also made the compelling point that, "about one third of media use throughout the day is audio, so if you are a brand without a strong audio strategy, your brand is going to go dark for a third of the day!”

Is Audio a Priority for Your Brand in 2025?
We’ve seen these trends shifting year on year towards audio. The technology, measurability, creative opportunities and reach are huge, and the forecasts to the end of the decade are for sustained growth.

Brands need specialist creative, media and production skills to take full advantage of the evolving audio landscape. As a Preferred Creative Partner with Spotify our teams across Europe and the US have had the experience of developing custom audio and digital strategies for brands that advertise on the world's largest music streaming platform for over a decade. At the same time we have grown to become one of London’s most trusted audio post production houses, building and investing in the talent and technology we need to amplify brands and captivate audiences with great sound.

Let’s Work Together to Bring Your Ideas to Life
Have an idea you’re excited about? Or maybe you’re just starting to explore the possibilities? Whatever stage you’re at, we’re here to talk about all things audio. From brief to broadcast, let’s work together to craft something extraordinary.

Written by Seb Juviler

Sources
Edison Research, Infinite Dial 2024 
Spotify First Party Data, What We Know, Global, 2024
Acast News and Insights, June 2024
Rajar Q3 MIDAS 2024 report
The Media Leader, RAJAR Q3 2024 
Acast News and Insights, October 2024 
Sensor Tower Blog 
Dolby Atmos for Cars