Americans Spend Over Four Hours Daily with Audio

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, December 27, 2023 | 11:31am CT

Edison Research

According to Edison Research, creators of audio content -- as well as advertisers who want to reach consumers -- are interested in whether audio is maintaining its place in people's lives. At the inception of the firm's Share of Ear study in 2014, the U.S. population 13+ spent four hours and 17 minutes a day listening to all audio sources. Through the years audio lost some daily minutes, hitting a low of three hours and 44 minutes in 2020.

This trend reversed course though in 2021, when daily time spent with audio increased back to over four hours. And according to the latest Share of Ear data from Q3 2023, listeners in the U.S. spend an average of four hours and 11 minutes per day consuming audio content, essentially unchanged from the level of almost a decade ago.

Audio sources remain competitive in the fight for people's time, despite an overwhelming amount of video choices and changing consumer habits over time. U.S. listeners 13+ still dedicate over a quarter of their waking lives to audio consumption. Those involved in selling advertisers into the audio space can consider using this dramatic evidence to help convince them to invest more. Audio can deliver enormous reach, frequency, and results.