• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer, May 16, 2013

According to Nielsen’s U.S. Entertainment Consumer Report, consumers in households earning an average annual income of $66,000 account for more than 70% of spending on entertainment, like books, video-on-demand and music. Not only did the survey find that these high entertainment spenders have more discretionary income than low or moderate spenders, they also participate in more entertainment activities. This group is also more likely to be female, ethnically diverse and have young children in their household.

Since there are a finite number of hours in a day, high spenders that enjoy an array of activities will ultimately be limited in how much time they dedicate to each. In that way, content providers and advertisers have a slightly larger window of opportunity to engage with moderate and low spenders, says the report.

All three segments spend the most time each week playing video games and listening to music, with low spenders clocking the most time at nearly nine hours. Low spenders also spend the most time perusing print books, magazines or newspapers (5.3 hours per week, on average) and watching mobile video (3.4 hours), while moderate spenders find more time to read content online (4.8 hours) and watch DVDs/Blu-rays (4.7 hours) and video-on-demand (4.6 hours).

Report highlights include:

• High entertainment spenders are taking part in a larger variety of activities, giving them less time to spend on each.
• Home entertainment consumers are embracing digital at a higher rate than ever before, as we see double-digit percentage increases in both one-time purchases and content subscriptions.
• Even with a preference for physical books, print book buyers are still just as engaged as their e-book-buying counterparts online.

The high entertainment spender is the ultimate home entertainment consumer, representing a third of the U.S. population and accounting for over 70% of spending across entertainment categories TV, music, books, home video, games, and mobile. High entertainment spenders are more likely than moderate and low entertainment spenders to be female, ethnically diverse and have young children in the household.

High Spenders’ Share Of Total Entertainment Dollars By Category

• Video-on-demand or pay-per-view 79%
• Video games 76%
• Music 78%
• Satellite radio subscription 70%
• Feature films on dvd, blu-ray or video buying or renting 71%
• Magazine, book or newspaper purchases or subscription fees 70%

Compared to the average adult online, digital music buyers are 45% more likely to be aged 25-34, while those who purchase physical CDs are most likely to be between 35 and 44 years old. Internet users who purchase digital music are also more likely than the average adult online to be Asian (8% more likely) and Hispanic (5% more likely).

18-24 year olds are driving music consumption in the U.S., and spend more than 6 hours per week listening to music – about a full hour more than adults.

29% of consumers are likely to purchase new music after hearing it through a streaming service

On-Demand Music Streamers Social And Spend Big; Compared to the average U.S. Internet user, on-demand music streamers are:

• 90% more likely to be heavy spenders on music
• 75% more likely to follow a brand on a social network
• 91% more likely to post links, articles, videos or web sites on a social network
• 96% more likely to follow a celebrity on a social network
• 50%more likely to be heavy spenders on event tickets

Social media has increasingly become an important platform for music artists and labels to share and promote their music to the masses. In the U.S., consumers are highly engaged with music content on social sites such as Facebook and Twitter. A Nielsen survey of music consumers found that more than half (55%) read Facebook posts from artists and bands on their mobile device and 26 percent keep up with those artists’ tweets

Social Engagement With Music On Mobile (% of consumers who use Facebook and Twitter to follow artists/bands)

• 55% Read Facebook posts from artists/bands
• 53% “Like” Facebook posts from artists/bands
• 30% Comment on Facebook posts from artist/bands
• 28% Click on posts from artist/bands from Facebook timeline
• 26% Read tweets from artist/bands
• 15% Share posts from artist/bands
• 14% Retweet artist/bands

Brand  endorsements in an endorsement campaign with a music artist has been shown to increase buy rates of a product by as much as 28% among the artist’s fans. An endorsement campaign by an artist has been shown to increase a brand’s market share by as much as 2.4 points among the artist’s fans:

For more information, please visit Nielsen here.