Audio4cast

One category that is not suffering this year is entertainment subscriptions, according to new information released by NPD Group. According to their new study, overall per capita spending on entertainment subscriptions rose by nearly 7% this year.

As of August 2009, 81 percent of U.S. households subscribed to a television service (satellite TV, basic/premium cable, or fiber-optic television service). A similar percentage of households (76 percent) paid for Internet subscriptions. Seventeen percent subscribed to an online music service or satellite radio; and 14 percent subscribed to online gaming subscription services.

While subscriptions to newspapers and magazines have declined, the rapid growth of smartphone sales has driven an increase in mobile data plan subscriptions: 9 percent of U.S. consumers had mobile data subscriptions this year, versus just 6 percent last year.

It’s not just limited to online or connected content delivery either. Fourteen percent of consumers subscribed to a home-video subscription service, like Netflix, this year, which is 2 percentage points higher than last year.

Recently, several Internet radio station owners have quietly told me the same thing. Listeners are willing to pay for content, particularly if it comes with a premium such as better sounding delivery, or no ads. It’s becoming a decent revenue stream for those that have suitable content and a loyal listener base…