Nielsen Debunks Myths About Holiday Music

Ho Ho Ho!

The “holiday spirit” will soon blanket shopping malls, yards, and airwaves across the UNITED STATES. NIELSEN MUSIC reports that holiday music is continuing to grow in popularity each year, and hundreds of radio stations nationwide will soon make the annual switch to an all-CHRISTMAS format. Over the last few years, more than 500 stations have gone to holiday programming on or around THANKSGIVING.

Holiday music’s popularity is rooted in what many consider to be the classic era of the genre, the 1950s and 1960s; so, you may be surprised to hear that NIELSEN’s 2017 Music 360 Report finds that more than a third (36%) of “holiday music fans” are Millennials…the largest of any generation. Gen X comprised 31% of holiday music fans, while “Boomers & Beyond” (55+) made up just 25% of the category. This surprise discovery led NIELSEN to investigate and dispel a number of commonly-held beliefs about holiday music and its fans.

Myth #1 – Only Older People Like Holiday Music

Holiday Music Fans Breakdown:

• Gen Z (Age 13-17): 8%
• Millennials (Age 18-34): 36%
• Gen X (Age 35-54): 31%
• Boomers & Beyond (Age 55+): 25%

Myth #2 – Holiday Fans Aren’t Streaming

Share of Overall Holiday Music Listening Time By Format Type (Greater than 100% bc people listen to music on more than one format type!):

• Streaming: 40%
• Radio (over-the-air or satellite): 26%
• Digital Music Library: 13%
• Physical Music: 12%
• Other: 10%

Myth #3 – Only One Station Per Market Can Go All Holiday

The Top Played Holiday Songs on Radio in 2016 Reflect a Diversity of Era and Style:

1. JOSE FELICIANO, Feliz Navidad – Spins: 35,223 – Year: 1970
2. BRENDA LEE, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Spins 33,342 – Year: 1962
3. BURL IVES, A Holly Jolly Christmas – Spins: 32,629 – Year: 1965
4. BOBBY HELMS, Jingle Bell Rock – Spins: 32,245 – Year: 1962
5. MARIAH CAREY, All I Want For Christmas – Spins: 31,377 – Year: 1994
6. NAT KING COLE, The Christmas Song – Spins: 29,772 – Year: 1949
7. TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, Christmas Eve Sarajavo – Spins: 28,293 – Year: 1995
8. ANDY WILLIAMS, It’s the Most Wonderful Time… - Spins: 27,086 – Year: 1963
9. BING CROSBY, White Christmas – Spins: 24,113 – Year: 1944
10. JONNY MATHIS, It’s Beginning to Look A Lot… - Spins: 23,911 – Year: 1986

The cities below reflect markets where the audio consumption of holiday music on various formats* (as a share of the national total) exceeded that of local radio spins. *Formats include audio streams, digital track sales and album sales.

• NEW YORK, NY
• LOS ANGELES, CA
• CHICAGO, IL
• BOSTON, MA
• WASHINGTON, D.C.
• ATLANTA, GA

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