Music Listening in Finland 2025: a change in music listening devices – smartphones joined car radios as the most popular device

There has been a change in the music listening habits of Finns: for the first time, the smartphone has caught up with the popularity of the car radio as a music listening device at the level of the entire population. Today, both smartphones and car radios are used weekly by 73% of Finns to listen to music, but phone use is growing slightly (+1%) while car radio use is declining slightly (-1%). In 2025, the number of people listening to music on their phone every day is almost double when compared to ten years ago.

In daily listening, under-45s prefer the phone, while older age groups still rely on the car radio. The use of smart speakers for music listening is also on the rise. In addition, the use of computers and separate radio devices has increased from 2024. When it comes to listening to music by using a phone, digital music streaming services are the most popular option.

“The first popular digital music listening channel was YouTube, which still reaches nearly 90% of Finns. About 68% of Finns use the paid or free version of Spotify. One in five older Finns do not feel that they need Spotify or another music streaming service and think that radio, recordings, TV, concerts and YouTube are enough for now. The older age group will probably continue to slow down the very likely growth of streaming services in the coming years,” says researcher Kari Tervonen.

Finns are interested in music events, but many have to limit their attendance due to their financial situation

In January–July 2025, two million Finns (45% of respondents) attended a paid gig or music festival, which is 1% more than in 2024. About 35% of Finns attended a free music event.

However, the attendance of several traditional music festivals fell by about 10% when compared to last year. This is thought to be caused by the general economic uncertainty and the resulting change in consumption behaviour. About one quarter of the survey respondents, particularly those aged 25–45, state that their financial situation has affected their attendance of music events. Nevertheless, the majority, up to 60% of respondents, say that their financial situation has not influenced their purchasing decisions in any way.

As many as 37% Finns state that they had to skip at least one music festival in summer 2025 due to a lack of money. This is 7 percentage points more than in 2024. When looking at all gig, concert or music festival attendance, 47% of Finns decided to not buy a ticket to an event this year despite being interested (2024: 41%). In the 2024 survey, the high price of tickets was a key reason for 56% of those who considered buying but did not buy a ticket.

The net attendance of gigs and concerts in January–August 2025 was at the same level as at the end of the 2010s and in 2023–2024. According to the music industry’s estimates, the range of events was broader than last year, but the number of people attending multiple events decreased. Active attendees of music events, or “heavy users”, reduced their attendance.

However, at a general level, Finns continue to be interested in music events. As many as 54% of Finns state that if they had extra money available, they would spend it on concert tickets. The second most popular option is cinema tickets (31%).

“The proportion of Finns who have attended gigs and festivals has remained stable for 15 years, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic years. In the first decade of the 2000s, the popularity of stadium concerts and festivals took a big leap and reached the current level. When it comes to live music events, the importance of spending time with friends has increased over the years, which has favoured the biggest events,” says Kari Tervonen.

Teosto’s and IFPI Finland’s Music Listening in Finland 2025 survey provided information about changes in Finns’ music listening habits over the longer term for the 12th time. The lead researcher was Kari Tervonen, Omnicom Media Group’s Roadmap Director, supported by Johanna Laitinen from Teosto and Tommi Kyyrä from IFPI Finland. The results of the survey were presented at the Music x Media event for professionals in Tampere on 26 September 2025.