Digital Audio Listener Demographics 2025

Spotify Battles YouTube for Gen Z’s Attention

Report by Paola Flores-Marquez  | Apr 7, 2025
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Young listeners’ embrace of Spotify and podcasts drives digital audio consumption
Implications for advertisers
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
Digital audio consumption continues to grow in the US. Younger audiences are leading the way, adopting platforms like Spotify and audio content like podcasts.
Topics
Digital Music
Digital Radio
Time Spent with Media
United States
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Young listeners’ embrace of Spotify and podcasts drives digital audio consumption
Implications for advertisers
Sources
Media Gallery

Digital audio continues to see a steady increase in time spent, with Gen Z driving growth across platforms as well as content type adoption. Younger listeners seek convenience and ad-free experiences. The exception is podcasts, which are typically ad-supported and continue to attract new listeners, especially as the video format takes off.

Key Question: What are the demographics of digital audio listeners in the US, and what groups are poised to drive growth?

Listeners Across Age Groups Spend Far More Time With Spotify Than Amazon and Apple Combined (average monthly hours spent with select mobile audio apps per US adult user, by age, Jan 2025)
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Key Stat: US adults spend more than quadruple the amount of time with Spotify that they do with Amazon Music and Apple Music combined (32.3 hours a month versus 4.4).

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Young listeners’ embrace of Spotify and podcasts drives digital audio consumption
  1. Implications for advertisers
  2. Sources
  1. Media Gallery

Charts in This Report

Listeners Across Age Groups Spend Far More Time With Spotify Than Amazon and Apple Combined (average monthly hours spent with select mobile audio apps per US adult user, by age, Jan 2025)Over Two-Thirds of Americans Will Listen to Digital Audio in 2025, and the Share Will Keep Climbing (millions in US digital audio listeners, % change, and % of population, 2022-2028)
Listeners Under 35 Overwhelmingly Prefer Digital Audio to Traditional Radio (digital audio vs. radio listeners as a % of US internet users, by age group, H1 2024)A Third of Young Adults Under 25 Are Using Only Paid, Ad-Free Digital Audio Subscriptions (% of US adults, by age, March 2025)
Spotify Is the Leading Digital Audio Platform Among Digital Audio Listeners Under 55 (% of US digital audio listeners who selected the digital audio platform they use most often, by age, Jan 2025)Spotify Has the Greatest Reach Among Women Ages 18-24 (Spotify listeners as a % of US internet users, by age and gender, Jan 2025)
Gen Zers Will Have the Highest Rate of Podcast Adoption by 2026 (podcast listeners as a % of the US population, by generation, 2024-2028)Adults Under 35 Prefer Podcasts With Video—Even if They Don't Watch It (% of US weekly podcast users, by age, Oct 2024)
Podcasts Make Up Nearly a Third of Ad-Supported Audio Time Spent Among Adult Listeners Under 35 (% of time spent with ad-supported audio among US audio listeners, by age and format, Q4 2024)

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authors

Paola Flores-Marquez

Contributors

Oscar Bruce Jr.
Director, Forecasting
Ethan Cramer-Flood
Suzy Davidkhanian
VP, Content
Vladimir de Leon
Chart Editor
Joanne DiCamillo
Senior Production Artist
Penelope Lin
Director, Data Visualization
Jennifer Pearson
VP, Research
Heather Sprung
Senior Editor
Sakina Thanawala
Copy Editor
Matt Torpey
Senior Chart Editor