Key stat: Gen Z adults spend 48 hours a month on Spotify's mobile app, 2.9 times the 16.8 hours they spend on YouTube's, according to a February survey from Comscore.

Beyond the chart:

• Spotify owns app time, but it doesn't own audio. In fact, YouTube has overtaken Spotify and Apple as the top podcast platform, with nearly half of US adults listening monthly and Gen Z leading the surge, according to EMARKETER.
• Meanwhile, young listeners are reshaping the broader audio pie. Ad-supported streaming music now claims 15% of US audio listening time, up 36.4% YoY, while radio's share slipped 5 points to 62%, per Nielsen's The Record report.

Use this chart: Drop this into a media planning deck to show where young ears actually live. Use it to argue audio deserves a bigger slice of your Gen Z budget, then pair it with the podcast data to remind the room that Spotify and YouTube win on different fronts.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• Gen Z Digital Audio Habits 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• US Digital Audio Forecast Overview 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.