Forget CDs. Teens Are Tuning Into YouTube

Among the issues dividing teenagers and their parents, add whether to listen to music on YouTube or on CD.

Nearly two-thirds of U.S. teenagers under the age of 18 say they use Google's video-sharing site to listen to music, more than any other medium, according to a new consumer survey from Nielsen Co., one of many challenges facing record companies as they transition into the digital world. In addition to treating YouTube as a de facto free music service, young people said they are less inclined than those 18 years old and up to listen to CDs or the radio. Neither age group reported making much use of Spotify AB, Rhapsody International Inc. or other on-demand streaming music services, though Pandora Media's custom online radio service was among the five most-popular methods for both groups. In fact, among adults, cassette tapes remain more popular than many online music services, or even vinyl records, despite the latter medium's purported comeback in recent years. Nine percent of adult respondents said they listen to cassettes, more than Spotify (7%), LP records (6%), or music services from Yahoo (2%), AOL (2%), eMusic.com Inc. (1%) or Rhapsody (1%).