Is Food Better With A Soundtrack?

Do you listen to music while you cook or eat? We do, but we work at Pandora, so we struggle to come up with instances in which we don’t listen to music. Having spent a lot of time thinking about the connection between food, music, and the moments that are created when the two intersect, we asked some of our listeners to weigh in on some of their own experiences. Here’s what we learned:

Turns Out We’re Not Alone

We’re not the only ones who like to put food and music together: 89% of the listeners that were surveyed listen to Pandora while they are cooking, eating, or entertaining guests, conveyed in the graphic above.

Mobile Is King Of The Kitchen & Recipes Are In Demand

Listeners may be putting down their phones to cook, but they’re definitely keeping them close enough to rock out. Smartphones (49%) are the #1 device choice for Pandora listening while cooking, with tablets as the #2 device choice (21%). We also learned that our listeners are looking for more than music when it comes to Pandora and their food. Of the listeners we surveyed, 42% said they would be interested in receiving recipes or cooking tips through a Pandora ad [1], which makes sense when you consider the following stats from comScore:

Pandora listeners are 82% more likely, than the average web user, to use mobile apps to download recipes and cooking tips. [2]

Pandora listeners are 30% more likely, than the average web user, to use mobile every day to look for cooking tips and recipes. [2]

The Soundtrack Of The Season

When it comes time for the holidays, our listeners are thinking of family, food and definitely music. We asked listeners the following question: “How important are the following holiday activities?”

Respondents were asked to rate 11 different holiday activities according to their importance, and “listening to music” topped the list, second only to “visiting with family”:

#1: 83.7%, visiting family
#2: 82.0%, listening to music
#3: 79.0%, having time off
#4: 76.5%, visiting friends
#5: 68.6%, holiday cooking
#6: 60.5%, holiday decorating

Whether you’re shopping for food, cooking or just plain enjoying it, thanks for making Pandora a key ingredient.

[1] Pandora Food and Music, August 2014 [2] comScore Plan Metrix, Aug 2014 (Web+Mobile)