Providers like Spotify, iHeart, YouTube Music, Amazon, and Pandora all currently offer both free and paid versions of their streaming music platforms. In 2015, over three-quarters of the time spent with streaming music sources was spent with free platforms, at 78%. This high percentage continued into 2016 but started to lose ground to paid sources starting in 2017. 2020 marks the first year that paid sources surpassed free for the percent of time Americans 13+ spend with streaming music sources. While there are slight fluctuations in the data some years, the overall theme remains consistent; percent of time spent with streaming music sources has shifted from free to paid platforms. As of 2025, Americans 13+ spend 66% of their daily streaming music listening with paid platforms and 34% of time with free services.
There are many reasons why paying for streaming music has become mainstream. These include Americans becoming less tolerant of advertisements in their audio listening, competitive pricing structures among streaming music providers, and subscription services becoming more common in other media offerings. Contact the Edison Research team to learn more about Share of Ear or discuss a custom audio study.
The Voter Poll, a new research program designed to provide election night data on the factors behind voter decisions, has just been announced this week by Edison Research’s new owners SSRS. The Voter Poll provides news organizations and the American public with trustworthy, timely, and insightful data on American voters.
