The State of In-Car Audio

Americans are hitting the road again, taking audio along for the ride. Each day, listeners are spending an average of four hours and 17 minutes a day with their favorite music, podcasts, and talk. And the numbers continue to rise—we’ve seen a 5% increase just in the last year!1 And with people getting back in their cars, the demand for audio on-the-go is gaining traction, too. 

Digital Audio on the Rise

In the past, in-car listening was ruled by AM/FM stations, where you get no personalization, the commercial breaks are long and inauthentic, and your brand gets lost in a mix. Thanks to digital audio, the popularity of AM/FM is starting to dwindle. Just last year, we saw a 23% increase in digital audio consumption and a 24% drop in AM/FM listening.1 And with digital audio, your ads do better with shorter breaks and a relatable tone. Whether it's millennials, Gen Z, parents, or multicultural audiences listening to satellite, streaming, or podcasts, we’ve got the crowds that your brand can connect with. 

Let’s find out what consumers are looking for when they plug into digital audio on the road and how your brand can meet them there. 

How Digital Audio Boosts Your Brand    

We’re here to give the people what they want. And what they want is easily accessible, authentic, and customized digital audio that they can listen to anywhere, anytime—easily! 

Satellite 

With satellite radio, we can reach listeners in the car almost everywhere. SiriusXM is in 140M vehicles, meaning one out of two cars is plugged in with us.2 And in-car listening is increasing—daily share of time listening to SiriusXM has gone up +28% in the last seven years,1 adding up to a grand total of 70% of subscribers' in-car listening spent with SiriusXM.4 That means your brand can reach listeners while they’re on the way to work, going out to meet up with friends, or even on the way to the grocery store.

And it gets better. We’ve even found that listeners are more receptive of ads when they come from SiriusXM—nearly 66% of consumers trust our ads more, and they’re 26% more likely to purchase and use the products advertised compared to AM/FM listeners.3 

Streaming

When it comes to ad-supported streaming audio, we’re at the top of our game. Americans are diversifying what they’re listening to—and we offer diverse content to satisfy audiences. In the car, listeners spend 41% of their time streaming digital audio.4 And we reach the largest ad-supported audience—meaning brands can reach 87% of our listeners with ads.⁵ And when you combine the reach of Pandora and Soundcloud, you can increase your reach as much as 22%6 and tap into a young, multicultural audience of tastemakers and influencers.

Podcasts

Not only are listeners tuning into satellite and streaming, they're listening to podcasts around 12% of the time they're in the car.10 And with podcasts popularity growing, we see those numbers climbing higher. Podcasts are hot, seeing massive adoption in listening over time, with a 290% increase in daily listening since 2015.1And our SiriusXM Podcast Network audience grew 123% just in the past year.4 

The on-demand, go-anywhere nature of podcasts is part of the appeal. Consumers are craving the authenticity and connection that podcasts bring to the table—ads and all. A massive 76% of listeners say listening to ads is a fair trade for free content, with 60% saying they would be open to a couple of extra ads to support the shows they love.7And even better, 54% of listeners say they're more likely to purchase a product when they hear a podcast advertisement over other media.9

Get Your Brand Behind the Wheel with Digital Audio 

With our satellite, streaming, and podcast platforms, advertisers can connect with consumers anywhere and everywhere—and that includes in the car. Our listeners are audio obsessed, meaning when they plug in, they’re listening to voices they love and trust and connecting with content that feeds their minds, hearts, and souls. 

As consumers get behind the wheel, your brand campaigns can go along for the ride with digital audio. We’ve got the tools, the skills, and the talent to put your ads in the fast lane. Let’s chat. 

Sources:

1. Edison Research Share of Ear, Q4 2022, Daily Listening Figures

2. Internal Metrics Q1 2022

3. Nielsen Custom Qualitative Study for SiriusXM, 2019

4. Edison Research Share of Ear Study, Q4 2022 vs Q4 2021

5. Triton Podcast Metrics Dec 2021 vs Dec 2020

6. Pandora Internal Metrics Q4-22

7. Comscore Media Metrix May 2022

8. The Podcast Consumer Journey, SXM Media, Publicis Media, Signal Hills Insights, Q4 2021

9. Edison Research Super Listeners Study 2020

10. Nielsen Custom Study for SiriusXM, Spring 2022/Fall 2022