Compared to last year, fewer Canadians aged 35-to-54 are listening to music on the radio.
Vancouver, BC [July 22, 2022] – The proportion of Canadians who relied on a radio to listen to music on a weekly basis has dropped since last year, as more members of Generation X embrace streaming platforms, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 60% of Canadians heard music on a regular radio over the past week, down six points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in January 2021.
Just over two-in-five Canadians (41%, +1) say they listened to music on a streaming service over the past seven days, while fewer than one-in-four (23%, -7) accessed music files stored in a computer or a phone.
Over the past week, fewer Canadians heard music on an LP record, cassette or CD (13%, -2) or on satellite radio (12%, =).
“The data shows a marked generational divide when it comes to how Canadians are listening to music,” says Mario Canseco. President of Research Co. “While Canadians aged 18-to-34 were quicker to adopt streaming platforms, their counterparts aged 35-to-54 are now clearly moving in the same direction.”
Practically three-in-five Canadians aged 18-to-34 (59%) are listening to music on a streaming service, while less than half (45%, down 17 points since February 2019) are using a radio.
Almost half of Canadians aged 35-to-54 (48%, +3 since 2021) are listening to music on a streaming platform, while 62% (-8) rely on the radio.
Two thirds of Canadians aged 55 and over (67%, -3) hear music on the radio, while 27% (-1) listen on a streaming platform.
Almost one-in-four Canadians (24%, +4) paid to access a music streaming service in the last month, including 40% of those aged 18-to-34 and 26% of those aged 35-to-54.
In the last month, significantly fewer Canadians paid for and downloaded a song online (11%, =) or purchased a compact disc or LP record (7%, -3).
Canadians remain divided when asked to ponder if, in this day and age, music creators are being fairly compensated for their work. While 40% think they are (=), 40% (-1) claim that they are not.
While only 30% (-2) of Canadians aged 55 and over believe music creators are being fairly compensated right now, the proportion rises to 45% (+3) among those aged 35-to-54 and to 55% (+1) among those aged 18-to-34.
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from July 11 to July 13, 2022, 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