American consumers generally aren’t fans of ads that play while they’re listening to music or watching streamed videos and such; that’s no big shock. However, there is something they dislike more than ads, says a report by Nielsen: Paying for services that have the option to be free. Therein lies the opportunity for streaming audio advertisers.

Nielsen found that of the Americans who subscribe to audio streaming services, 53% choose the option of free services that are supported by advertisements. And why would they feel the need to upgrade to a paid subscription just to be free of ads? They’re used to audio being free; everyone grew up with standard radio and they’re accustomed to the drill of commercials every few songs. Nielsen says that the relationship between audio and radio, “has been the foundation of the total listening experience since radio first hit the airwaves. This explains why radio remains one of the centerpieces of the media universe, reaching 92% of U.S. adult listeners each week, more than any other platform.”

While over-​the-​air radio is an old reliable advertising medium, there are many aspects of streamed audio that have radio beat in the eyes of numerous consumers. Americans say the most important aspects of audio streaming are:

• Ease of use: 78%
• Variety/​availability of content: 72%
• Quality of personalized content: 61%
• Availability across devices: 60%

“At some point,” writes Nielsen, “even the most successful subscription model will face growth challenges as its subscriber pools fill up. That’s not the case with the ad-​supported model.”

43.8% of Americans are Streaming Music Service Subscribers, according to AudienceSCAN on AdMall by SalesFuel. Not only that, last year, 47.1% of these listeners took action after hearing an ad on either digital or over-​the-​air radio. You can check out their audience profile for more information on demographic, purchase intent and marketing info to present to your streaming audio ad clients!