Only 5% of US adults say they use a live audio service like Clubhouse or Twitter Spaces on a daily basis, according to Morning Consult in its State of Media and Entertainment Report [download page]. An additional 17% use these services either weekly (8%) or monthly (9%), leaving about three-quarters (77%) who have never used one.
Not surprisingly, social audio services – described as “where consumers broadcast their audio-only conversations to the public in real time” – are more popular among youth. Millennials lead the way, with 40% reporting having used them. That includes more than 1 in 10 (11%) who have used them at least once a day. Gen Zers are a little further behind, with 31% reporting usage, including 9% daily. There’s then another drop-off in usage among Gen Xers (21%) and Baby Boomers (9%).
Looking at other demographic variables, the data indicates that social audio service usage is higher among those with income of at least $100k than those below that threshold. Podcast listeners are particularly attuned (pun intended) to the services: 48% say they’ve used them, including 1 in 8 (12%) on a daily basis.
As for podcasts, which have certainly enjoyed a burst in popularity in recent years, but which are now transitioning beyond an audio-only format, Morning Consult’s research reveals that there’s some appetite for subscriptions and other forms of payment from listeners. Almost one-quarter (23%) of podcast listeners surveyed in the report said they had paid or donated for exclusive benefits to a podcast in the previous month. That share was higher among Gen Z adults (27%) and Millennials (31%), and also rose to 37% among listeners with income of at least $100k.
That’s good news for media organizations considering charging for podcast content, as more than half (52.8%) of weekly podcast listeners come from households with at least $100k in income, according to MarketingCharts’ Media Audience Demographics report.
For more, check out Morning Consults’ report here.
About the Data: The results are based on a survey of roughly 2,200 US adults (18+).
