Report: Digital Audio market gaining momentum in LatAm
October 21, 2021
Digital Audio (streaming radio and podcasts) currently represents a limited market in Latin America. In 2020, it generated only $25 million (€21.4m) in advertising; a figure that, comparatively, was equivalent to 5 per cent of the total income of traditional radio stations. However, a wide range of regional media types have started to embrace digital audio recently, from radio groups to OTT platforms.
The emergence of digital media in advertising markets mainly affected the revenues of television and printed media. In contrast, radio has weathered this storm with barely any significant damage and remained steady at an estimated 7 per cent of the total advertising market. From the technological providers’ point of view, such stability in revenues delayed the development of digital options for many radio stations.
Meanwhile, radio groups point out that the technology allowing digital monetisation was only made available a few years ago. Currently, radio stations aim at be becoming be multiplatform companies, with stakeholders integrating video as a key element of their strategies.
2020 saw digital music streaming platforms reach 110 million unique monthly users and generate $970 million in revenue. Although Spotify remains the dominant player, strong competition is observed between platforms. As they provide very similar offers, podcasts have become key differentiators over time.
While music players have promoted the format, they do not take part in the monetisation of such content. Producers are ultimately in charge of their products’ marketing and commercialisation, and a plethora of monetization possibilities are available to them.
Dataxis estimates that by 2026, digital audio advertising revenues will reach nearly $100 million.