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 de 40% no número de ouvintes negros de 18 a 34 anos que sintonizam a música country
Fonte: Março de 2023 vs. março de 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, O público negro global: Moldando o futuro da mídia, 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.
À medida que os holofotes continuam a brilhar sobre as raízes afro-americanas da música country e os talentos das vozes atuais, há alguns pontos importantes a serem lembrados.
- A medição é fundamental para informar nossas estratégias com dados em vez de noções preconcebidas.
- Ainda há muitas tendências e tradições afro-americanas que não são contadas, como o legado de contribuições para formatos como o country, entre outros. A representação é importante e, quando essas histórias são centralizadas, o público comparece.
- Repense como e onde você planeja se conectar com a diversificada população negra americana. Com uma média de mais de 81 horas por semana gastas com a mídia, há uma infinidade de oportunidades para as marcas se conectarem com os consumidores negros de maneiras inovadoras e autênticas.
Notas
1Nielsen Audio PPM Black DST Markets Mo-Su 6A-12A
2Nielsen Audio PPM Cross-Market AQH Share. Mon-Sun 6a-Mid
