While some are still debating how to define country music, others like Urban One’s 93Q in Houston embraced the cultural moment sparked by Beyoncé’s latest release—and across the audio landscape, so did listeners.
On the day of Cowboy Carter’s release, music video network Vevo reported a 38% increase in views of country music videos globally.
From Rhiannon Giddenn’s banjo to Linda Martell’s pioneering EP, every country artist featured on the album has seen an increase in first-time or catalog listeners according to Spotify.
That digital audio engagement with country music has also translated to broadcast radio, with Nielsen measurement showing a +40% increase in audience share for the Country format among Black 18-34 year olds. 1 The spike occurred across key markets in March 2024 compared to March of last year and continued into April with a +12% increase compared to 2023.
Aumento del 40% degli ascoltatori neri tra i 18 e i 34 anni che si sintonizzano sulla musica country
Source: March 2023 vs March 2024; Nielsen Audio PPM Black DST Markets Mo-Su 6A-12A
Looking at the first quarter of 2024, country radio made up 9% of all streaming listening to AM/FM stations among Black people in the 18-34 age group—2.6x greater than adults spent streaming country stations overall. Black 18-34 year olds’ streaming of country stations was second only to the R&B and Hip-hop formats.2 This engagement reiterates additional research from Nielsen about the connection between audio content and African American communities.
Broadly, Black audiences average more than nine hours a week with radio, with an average monthly reach among Black 18-34 year olds specifically of 86%. Nielsen’s recent report, Il pubblico nero globale: Dare forma al futuro dei media, found that Black 18-34-year-olds in the U.S. are nearly 20% more likely than the general population to discover new music by listening to traditional radio. With the attention and engagement focused on today’s Black artists within Country Music, the uptick in this demographic’s engagement with these radio stations makes sense.
Mentre i riflettori continuano a brillare sulle radici afroamericane della musica country e sul talento delle voci attuali, ci sono alcuni elementi chiave da tenere a mente.
- La misurazione è fondamentale per informare le nostre strategie con dati e non con nozioni preconcette.
- Ci sono ancora molte tendenze e tradizioni afroamericane che non vengono raccontate, come l'eredità dei contributi a formati come il country, tra gli altri. La rappresentazione è importante e quando queste storie vengono messe al centro, il pubblico si presenta.
- Ripensate a come e dove pensate di entrare in contatto con la variegata popolazione nera americana. Con una media di oltre 81 ore alla settimana trascorse sui media, i marchi hanno una moltitudine di opportunità per entrare in contatto con i consumatori neri in modi innovativi e autentici.
Note
1Nielsen Audio PPM Black DST Markets Mo-Su 6A-12A
2Nielsen Audio PPM Cross-Market AQH Share. Mon-Sun 6a-Mid
