Are You a 'Music Loving Personalizer' or a 'Background Driving Defaulter'?

A new study by Nielsen identifies different types of audio consumers.

Its Audio Demand Landscape survey, released at the company's Consumer 360 conference last week, defined six groups of audio consumers. They include:

• Music Loving Personalizers are passionate music listeners who are mainly seeking an emotional benefit by listening. They prefer free services and often play music in the background.
• Discriminating Audiophiles are highly engaged consumers who listen to and prefer a wide variety of audio, and are willing to pay for specific content.
• Convenience Seeking Traditionalists prefer broadcast radio, listening to their favorite stations and hosts; and they routinely listen in the car.
• Information Seeking Loyalists are heavy broadcast listeners who usually listen to their favorite talk programs for news, education and to stay informed of current events.
• Background Driving Defaulters are less engaged and typically have the radio on in the car for background entertainment or occasionally news and information.
• Techie Audio Enthusiasts are avid consumers of many types of audio. These listeners are early adopters of new platforms to satisfy their audio needs.

Nielsen writes:

"Not all audio consumers are after the same thing, and their specific wants and desires motivate them to use many kinds of audio. For many years, the industry has focused on demographics as an important indicator of how (and why) listeners tune in, but those areas only cover part of the story. As the audio landscape continues to grow, it’s important to consider more than just age and gender." 

The study was based on Audio Demand Landscape responses by an online panel of 4,950 Americans aged 18-74 conducted in March.