Radio and the audio revolution

Tuning In
The audio market
Why use radio?
How to do it
Clearance
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Tuning In

The audio market

New national radio brands, the advent of smart speakers and a surge in streaming and podcast listening has led to an audio revolution.

Why use radio?

Whether new to radio or wanting to use radio better, here's why radio will be an effective advertising medium for your brand

How to do it

Getting your radio campaign to air has never been easier. Here's what you need and how to make it creatively brilliant.

Clearance

To enquire about ad clearance call 020 7010 0608 in office hours, 07710 400276 outside of hours or clearance@radiocentre.org

Radio – the broadcast linear flow of curated, predominantly live, presenter-led music and speech based audio entertainment – is now part of a much wider audio ecology.

Before the audio revolution, there used to be two choices for listeners – live radio or your personally-owned music collection.

Now, with the rise of new audio formats such as podcasts and streamed music services, listeners have more options than ever before. The rise of multiple-function mobile devices (formally known as phones) and the fact that audio content is “device neutral” for the most part, means that people can listen to almost anything, anywhere, and at any time.

Why people listen

Unsurprisingly, more services and greater availability is leading to an increase in overall audio listening.

Radio fact

96%

of adults listen to some form of audio entertainment, as of summer 2024

Radio fact

25.6hrs

is the average time spent listening to radio per week

Radio fact

20%

of all time spent with the media is for audio

Audio listening is buoyant

Total hours(000): All adults

Source: RAJAR MIDAS Summer 2022

Radiocentre’s research project Audio Now explored the position of different audio services in people’s lives today. The study established that the demand for audio is increasing due to the pressure of modern life, with people using audio to help them cope. Audio Now identified that audio fulfils six different need-states, but our follow up research Generation Audio examines the drivers behind continued growth in the audio landscape – for both listeners and advertisers and has identified a seventh need-state.

For more information on the need-states and an explanation of how and why audio helps satisfy them, see ‘Generation Audio’.

Find out more

The different characteristics of live radio and on-demand audio mean that they are suited to different need-states and play complementary roles in the listener’s life.

Live radio is unique because it offers human voice and human choice and retains the ability to surprise. Radio also connects us to the outside world – both by keeping us in the loop and by providing a reason to talk to the people around us. What makes on-demand audio services different is the potential to listen – at least in theory – to anything. It offers control and instant gratification and the ability for a more immersive, focused music experience. While radio can help people feel connected to the wider world, on-demand help connects them to their world: be it friends with similar tastes or people they share playlists with. By serving different listener needs to on-demand services, live radio remains the dominant format accounting for around 70% of all time spent with audio.

Share of total weekly listening hours

For more on using digital audio advertising alongside radio, see Planning your campaign

The way people listen is changing

What is the future of radio?

Why radio offers something that podcasts and music streaming can't

The future of radio