Do you listen to music in the shower?

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A new survey unveils our streaming music habits, and I'm totally judging some of you.

It's often assumed that the future of music will entirely be in streaming services such as Spotify, where you pay a subscription each month rather than purchasing "ownership" of tracks or albums. The reality is a little messier. Yes, streaming is becoming dominant, especially for younger listeners, but there's still a market for physical music (including the much-exaggerated vinyl revival). More tellingly, there are still plenty of people who haven't tried streaming at all.

Some recent research from Spotify and media buying agency GroupM underlines the point. After surveying 20,000 consumers (including 3,000 Australians), the study concluded that 50% of Internet users stream music. In Australia, the figure is a little lower, at 37%. So somewhere between a half and two-thirds of us aren't yet worried about listening to music through Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music or any of the other options.

That observation aside, two sets of figures in the Spotify research jumped out at me. The first lists which streaming services people typically use. Unsurprisingly, YouTube is the most popular, with Spotify second and Pandora a very distant third. Despite their dominance of mobile platforms, neither Google or Apple or getting much of a look-in.

The second shows the activities we typically perform while consuming our favourite tunes. Straight up, I find the idea of listening to music in the shower weird: how would you hear anything? But it's less surprising that "chilling" was the most popular choice.

Activity
%
Chilling
55%
Doing housework
53%
Cooking
42%
On road trips
40%
Working out
40%
Travelling
36%
On holiday
35%
Working
33%
Commuting
30%
Running
30%
Taking a shower
30%
On public transport
29%
Studying
25%
Birthday parties
23%
Outdoor activities
22%
While running errands
19%
Gaming
19%
Girls' night out
18%
Sleeping
15%
Biking
14%
At dinner
14%
At cafes
12%
With my kids
10%
Ridesharing
7%
Yoga
7%
With my baby
5%

At least the survey didn't ask who listened to music on the toilet. That's a version of streaming we don't need.

Angus Kidman's Findings column looks at new developments and research that help you save money, make wise decisions and enjoy your life more. It appears Monday through Friday on finder.com.au.

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