30 Data Points that Prove Audio Data is on the Rise

COVID-19 has resulted in a massive shift in user behavior. Primarily, our lives are becoming more digital in both everyday consumer life as well as in the enterprise as the world was forced to adopt “Remote Work”. This reality has led to a massive increase in the amount of audio data the world is generating on a daily basis at both work and home. Here is a list of 30 data points to show the impact of COVID-19 on remote work and to put into perspective just how much audio data is generated by the world.

COVID-19 impact on Remote Work & Time Spent Online

Remote Work

One of the most noticeable impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic was the quick shift to remote work.

• 20% to 25% of the workforces in advanced economies could work from home between three and five days a week. This represents four to five times more remote work than before the pandemic. - McKinsey
• Employers started adjusting their workplaces to fit a new hybrid working model as nearly 70% of full-time U.S. workers have worked remotely, with many continuing to do so. - Owl Labs
• 90% of respondents that worked from home during the pandemic said they were as productive -- or more -- when compared to the office. - Owl Labs

Time Spent Online

Another noticeable impact of the pandemic was an increase in time spent online and the importance of the internet.

• 90% of adults say the internet has been essential or important to them personally during the pandemic. - Pew Research
• 40% of adults have used the internet in a new way during the pandemic. - Pew Research
• 72% of parents say their kids are spending more time in front of screens than prior to the pandemic. - Pew Research

Showing the Rise in Audio Data

Social Audio and Call Center Data

Audio data has risen across consumer and enterprise use cases through new categories such as Social Audio and existing channels like Call Centers.

• Clubhouse surpassed 10 million registered users as of February 13, 2021. - Voicebot
• The rapid growth of Social Audio on Clubhouse caught the attention of Big Tech companies like Twitter, Facebook, Spotify, Reddit, Amazon, and LinkedIn who have all added Social Audio as a feature of their own platforms. - HighFidelity Link, Social Media Today, Voicebot, Reddit
• Alongside the pandemic Discord users rose from 56M in 2019 → 140M in 2021 with peak concurrent users hitting 10.6M in 2020. - Business of Apps
• Discord users spend 4 billion minutes in conversation daily. - The Verge
• Overall call volume to contact centers jumped over 600% from normal levels, while agent call capacity dropped by 20% during COVID-19. - Deloitte

Video Conferencing and Social Video Data

Video usage has also surged in new and traditional channels such as videos on Social Media or Video Conferencing - all of which come with a multitude of Audio data.

• Zoom had over 300 million meeting participants per day in 2020 - GetvVoIP
• Google Meet had over 100 million daily meeting participants in 2020 - GetvVoIP
• Microsoft Teams had 250 million active daily users in 2021. - GetvVoIP
• Cisco WebEx currently has over 324 million users. - GetvVoIP
• 500 million viewers watch 100 million hours of video content on Facebook daily - 99Firms
• As of Q4 2021, Tik Tok had 1 billion MAUs. - Business of Apps
• As of 2019, 500 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute worldwide - Tubefilter
• Twitch has 140 million monthly active users and 30 million daily active users. - Earthweb
• On Twitch creators Broadcasted for 88.7 Million Hours in January 2021 alone. - Influencer Marketing Hub

Multiplayer Games Data

Multiplayer gaming continued to grow through 2022 across many major brands. A crucial component of any Multiplayer game is reliable Voice Chat which is why this makes our list.

• PUBG has over 520M monthly active users and over 43M daily active users, as of March 2022. - ActivePlayer
• Minecraft has over 172M monthly active users and over 15M peak players in a day, as of March 2022. - ActivePlayer
• Fortnite has over 271M monthly active users and over 24M peak players in a day, as of March 2022. - ActivePlayer
• Roblox has over 213M monthly active users and over 21M max players in a day, as of March 2022. - ActivePlayer
• Apex Legends has over 119M monthly active users and over 11M max daily players, as of March 2022. - ActivePlayer
• League of Legends has over 128M monthly active users and over 11M peak players in a day, as of March 2022. - ActivePlayer

Metaverse and AR/VR Data

The Metaverse is the current hottest topic among Big Tech companies. Whether using your Voice to control the AR/VR environment around you or to communicate with a friend, it is a necessary component in the Metaverse.

• Meta’s social VR platform Horizon has 300,000 monthly active users. - The Verge
• Meta is building their own Voice Assistant specifically for the Metaverse. - Vox
• Rec Room has 37M users as of December 2021, 450% higher than the previous year. - TechCrunch
• Other platforms like Mozilla and Microsoft have also recognized the opportunity that lies within the Metaverse and have created their own platforms, Hubs and Mesh. - Mozilla, Microsoft

Challenges and Opportunities with Audio Data

The rise in audio data can lead to challenges like the cost of being able to moderate discussions happening on social media, as well as opportunities like being able to provide tools to create a more efficient customer service experience. Do you think there are any other challenges or opportunities that arise alongside the growth in Audio Data? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @SpeechlyAPI.

Cover photo by Kristin Wilson on Unsplash