Listen Up: African-American Consumers and Music

From gospel and the blues to jazz and hip hop, African-Americans have long shaped American music—and continue to do so.

Today the African-American community is 44 million strong—that’s 14 percent of the total U.S. population. And this growing demographic is young: 53 percent of Blacks are under the age of 35, compared with 47 percent of the general population. This younger audience has an influence on music that is outsized to its share of the overall population; and as early adopters of technology, this engaged and connected group has the power to continue to inspire musical trends.

African-Americans’ Musical Preferences

Blacks demonstrate a strong preference for the genres of music they helped to create and have been closely associated with for decades.

For additional insights into Multicultural music listeners, download the related reports:

• Listen Up: Music and the Multicultural Consumer
• Listen Up: Asian-American Consumers and Music
• Listen Up: Hispanic Consumers and Music