IFPI, representing the recording industry worldwide, today released Engaging with Music 2022, a global report on how people around the world enjoy and engage with music. Based on the responses of more than 44,000 people in 22 countries, the report is based on the largest music study of its kind.  

Highlights of the 2022 report include:

  • Average weekly time listening to music grows to 20.1 hours. Music fans are listening to more music today than ever before, spending on average 1 hours listening to music weekly (up from 18.4 hours in 2021). That’s the equivalent of listening to an additional 34 3-minute songs per week in 2022.
  • Music is integral to people’s mental and physical wellbeing – Music continues to play a vital role supporting both mental health and physical activity. 69% of people say music is important to their mental health and 69% say that music is important when they exercise.
  • There are more ways than ever for people to engage with music today – More than three-quarters of those surveyed enjoy music in multiple formats. On average, people across the globe use more than six different methods to engage with music – ranging from video and audio streaming to terrestrial radio, television, film, gaming, creating short-form videos and much more.
  • Music is central to people’s engagement with short form video apps – 63% of all time spent on short-form video apps are on videos where music plays a central role.
  • People listen to diverse range of music genres – Alongside popular genres such as Hip-Hop, Rock and Pop, more than 500 different genres were identified by at least one respondent – including Sertanejo, Samba, Disco-Polo and Dangdut – contributing to a rich mixture of local and global music available to music fans across the globe.
  • Music remains key reason listeners tune into radio – The enduring popularity of radio continues, with 73% of respondents saying that they listen to radio primarily for music.
  • Unauthorised access to unlicensed music remains threat to music ecosystems – Almost one in three respondents (30%) used unauthorised or unlicensed methods to listen to or download music.

Frances Moore, IFPI Chief Executive, said: “This year’s Engaging with Music report paints a fascinating picture of how fans around the globe listen and engage with music today. It shows the results of record companies’ partnership with artists and their work to harness new technologies to connect fans with their favourite tracks in even more ways.

“We continue our work to ensure that those seeking to profit from unlicensed and unauthorised music can’t threaten the vibrancy of a music ecosystem that is essential to artists and fans. Engaging with Music 2022 serves as a healthy and celebratory reminder of the true global importance and value of music and the need to protect and support it.”

Download the full report here