Next Big Sound (a/o May 16th):
We love to talk about the American Idol flops, the ones that didn't end up like Kelly Clarkson. But each and every winner - and even early-stage contestant - is playing on one of the largest stages available. Which also goes for the Grammys, Super Bowl, and any artist lucky enough to score a television sync.
This is a platform that retains a surprising degree of insulation from ruthless media fragmentation, and still delivers a gigantic maintream audience. And the data on this is pretty staggering. According to stats compiled by the US Department of Labor, Americans still spend nearly three hours a day watching television (for men 2.94 on average; women 2.53). That eclipses any other single activity outside of sleeping and work, by a gigantic margin. And when it comes to other formats and platforms - including games and music - there's nothing that commands such focused attention.
This is all part of the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), a year-long canvass that involves more than 13,000 Americans over the age of 15 (raw data here; more on methodology here).
So where's music? It's actually nowhere to be found in this survey, though that doesn't mean listening is low. Instead, this survey tracks the primary activity only, not background music or other multi-tasking habits. Which also seems to speak volumes: most Americans are not sitting around listening to music in a focused fashion, at least outside of concert experiences.
Also a surprise - at least to the sleep-deprived parent, entrepreneur, or hard-charging CEO - is that most Americans easily get more than 8 hours of sleep a night. Which also means that nearly half the day is consumed by sleep and television.
Corey Tate - www.spacelab.tv Monday, May 07, 2012
Is this for watching TV shows on the TV only, or does it include watching TV shows over the Internet (Netflix, Hulu, etc)? A quick scan of the methodology didn't really say. Online watching could blow this up even more.
paul Monday, May 07, 2012
I can check into this; my instinct tells me it's a smaller percentage but that's not a scientific assessment.
/paul
Big Swifty and Associates Monday, May 07, 2012
Is there a graph for 30 years ago? Would it look much different? Also, I am guessing that the under 15 crowd are an important part of music consumption.
paul Monday, May 07, 2012
I'm seeing archives back to 2003, at least on the Labor site.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/atus_09142004.pdf
broader archive list.
At first blush the stats look pretty similar, the difference is just 7 (not 30) years of course.
/paul
What? Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Only 3.5 hours a day for work?!
paul Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Yes, I had to double-check this but that's correct (according to the Labor stats.) The reason - by the numbers - is that only a percentage of people are actually working. So, among those that do work, the hourly is much higher.
/paul
TC Tuesday, May 08, 2012
I am not suprised more people do not listen to music exclusively but they would probably be surprised how much music they hear throughout the day especially when watching television.
@ReverbNation Tuesday, May 08, 2012
That's crazy.
@indiecalp Tuesday, May 08, 2012
Listen to some music people!
@virberg Wednesday, May 09, 2012
so where's music?
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