Tuesday, February 28, 2012

CRS 2012 Research Study Expands Focus Beyond P1 Listeners

Study reminds Country radio to connect, understand non-P1 audience,
stresses importance of local DJs

(Nashville, Tenn. – Feb. 22, 2012)  Country Radio Seminar’s 2012 research study was delivered in front of a packed house at CRS 2012 on Wednesday, Feb. 22, providing a broader look into the attitudes and trends of Country radio fans beyond the core P1 listener.   

This year’s study compiled data from a national survey of more than 1,000 Country fans ages 18-54.  According to Edison Research, which conducted the study and presented the findings at CRS, 65 percent of Country fans qualified as “non-P1” listeners.  Edison Research also performed and included in-depth video interviews with fans as part of its presentation.

Among the study’s key findings were:

- Local, live DJs are instrumental in the difference between radio and other music outlets like Pandora or Spotify. 

- Both P1s and non-P1s are generally equally as enthusiastic about DJs and half of both groups say that DJs are a prime reason that AM/FM radio is better than internet radio.

- Non-P1s are more than twice as likely to have begun listening to Country music “in the last few years.”
 
- One in six non-P1s say that Country music from the 1960s and 70s is their favorite.

- Ninety percent of non-P1s feel that Country music makes a positive contribution to America.  Four in five say that Country lyrics often express how they feel.

- Non P1s are more likely to go to church on a weekly basis than P1 listeners.

- Eighty-six percent of non-P1s perceive that Country music is becoming more popular.

- Non-P1s are much more likely to be aware of Pandora, iHeart or Spotify and much less likely to listen frequently to the radio.

“Country music remains a very healthy format and is actually becoming more popular, but one of the main points that I think this year’s survey drives home is that Country radio could do a better job at understanding and identifying its non-P1 listeners,” says Edison Research Co-founder and President Larry Rosin. “While it is understandable that P1 listeners should be a priority, the importance of the other 65 percent or so of your total audience cannot be underestimated.  Our data also suggest that live, local DJs are one of the big advantages that radio has over internet and satellite outlets, and should be acknowledged as such.”

The full CRS 2012 Country Radio research study is now available online at: www.EdisonResearch.com.

No comments:

Post a Comment