The proportion of Canadians who listen to music on a streaming service grew from 32% in 2019 to 40% in 2021.
Vancouver, BC [January 19, 2021] – While radio remains the most favoured choice for Canadians who want to listen to music, streaming platforms have gained prominence across the country over the past two years, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 66% of Canadians say they listened to music on a regular radio over the past week, down three points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in March 2019.
Two-in-five Canadians (40%, +8 since 2019) listened to music on a streaming service over the past seven days, while three-in-ten (30%, -1) listened to music stored in a computer or a phone.
Fewer Canadians listened to music on an LP record, cassette or CD (16%, -5) or on satellite radio (12%, -3) over the past week.
“Canadians aged 55 and over prefer to listen to music on the radio (70%) than on a streaming service (28%),” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Conversely, those aged 18-to-34 are more likely to stream (64%) than to listen to the radio (53%).”
While one-in-five Canadians (20%) paid to access a music streaming service in the last month, the proportion rises to 40% among those aged 18-to-34.
Fewer Canadians paid for and downloaded a song online (11%) or bought a compact disc or LP record (10%) in the last month.
When asked if they think that, in this day and age, music creators are being fairly compensated for their work, Canadians are almost evenly split. While 40% believe they are (-11 since 2019), (41%, +8) believe they are not.
A majority of Canadians aged 18-to-34 think music creators are being fairly compensated right now (54%), compared to 42% among those aged 35 to 54 and 32% among those aged 55 and over.
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from January 9 to January 11, 2021, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error – which measures sample variability – is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca