Research Group: Pandora Is Most Popular Online Radio Service

Times change fast, and the number of places where you can listen to music online have grown greatly over the past few years. Long gone are the days of listening to poorly ripped songs uploaded to YouTube alongside cheesy stock-photo fan videos. Robust options exist, and if you get tired of one there are three more pining for your attention. We know all about the services we frequently see and hear, but which of them is the most popular overall? One recent group's data points to Pandora as the winner.

The report (The Infinite Dial 2015) comes from Triton Digital and Edison Research, and it looks at several things, one of which is "Audio Brands". When it comes to brand awareness, the report shows that Pandora is the most recognizable, with 75-percent of those surveyed saying they are aware of the brand. It isn't surprising, then, that when surveyed about usage, most of those individuals (45-percent) report using Pandora, while the next highest is iHeartRadio at 17-percent.

A total of 34-percent said they listened to Pandora in the last month (11-percent said they listed to iHeartRadio and another 11-percent said iTunes Radio), all of which is an increase over last year. In 2014, only 31-percent said they'd listened to Pandora in the last month. The highest volume of listeners regardless of service were in the 12-24 age group, with Pandora being first at 54-percent and Spotify second at 23-percent (iTunes Radio was third at 20-percent).

When it came to music services listened to in the last week, Pandora received 27-percent of the votes, while Spotify, iTunes Radio, and iHeartRadio all tied at 7-percent each. When it comes to keeping up-to-date with music, however, Pandora came in at #4, falling below (from lowest to highest) YouTube, AM/FM Radio, and Family/Friends.

VIA: Digital Trends