IFPI has released Engaging With Music 2023, its global report examining how people around the world engage with and feel about music.
Based on the responses of more than 43,000 people across 26 countries, the report is the largest music study of its kind.
Highlights of the 2023 report’s findings include the finding that we are listening to more music than ever – 20.7 hours is the average that people spend listening to music each week (up from 20.1 hours in 2022). That increase is the equivalent of listening to an additional 13 three-minute songs per week in 2023.
The report also shows that 79% of people think there are more ways to listen to music than ever before (up from 76% in 2022). On average people use more than seven different methods to engage with music.
The audio streaming market continues to grow, led by subscription audio.
Engaging With Music 2023 shows that 73% of people say they listen to music through licensed audio streaming services (including subscription and ad-supported). There was an increase of 7% in time spent listening to music on subscription audio streaming services.
The use of subscription services is higher among younger demographics – 60% for those aged 16-24 and 62% 25-34, compared to 50% for those aged 35-44, 40% for 45-54 and 28% for 55-64.
Pop is still the most popular genre in the world, with local genres increasingly in demand.
Catalogue’s increasing popularity is underlined in the report’s finding that 64% of 16-44 year-olds like discovering older music. Further findings are that 80% of gamers listen to music while they play, and that music is central to 54% of all the time spent watching videos on short form video apps.
In fact, the wide appeal of platforms such as TikTok is shown in the result that short form video is the top method for 16-24 year-olds (82% of those surveyed) to engage with music, versus 72% for audio streaming, 68% for video streaming platforms and 48% for radio.
The breakdown of listening hours for all demographics surveyed across methods of consumption are: audio streaming (32%), Video streaming including YouTube and TikTok (31%), radio (17%), purchased music (9%), live music (4%) and other forms of listening (7%).
Engaging With Music shows how fans are seizing the opportunities to listen to more music in more ways than they have ever done before
Frances Moore
Streaming is also opening up music to global audiences. 57% of people say it’s important to them that they can access music that comes from anywhere in the world – 65% among 16-24s. On average, fans worldwide listened to more than eight different genres of music.
Physical music remains resilient alongside streaming, with 13% of those surveyed having purchased a CD in the past month and 9% purchasing vinyl in the past month.
Music is hugely important for mental health and wellbeing, according to the report. Among those surveyed, 71% say music is important to their mental health and 78% say music helps them relax and cope with stress.
Unlicensed music is still a significant issue, with 29% admitting to using unlicensed or illegal ways to listen to or obtain music.
Frances Moore, IFPI chief executive, said: “Music is incredibly important to people’s lives. Engaging With Music shows how fans are seizing the opportunities to listen to more music in more ways than they have ever done before.
“However, the use of unlicensed music remains a significant issue for the music community, especially as technologies continue to evolve. We need to continue to do everything in our power to support and protect the value of music.”
There is high awareness of AI among music fans, but almost all think human creativity must be respected. 79% agree that human creativity is essential to the creation of music. For the first time, this year the report includes a section dedicated to artificial intelligence.
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