Teens don't just listen to music, thanks to YouTube, but radio is still the way the most people discover new music, according to a Nielsen study.

Some of the headlines from the Music 360 study, an in-depth examination of consumer interaction with music in the United States:

48 percent of us discover music through radio.

Tips from friends and relatives account for 10 percent of such discoveries.

In terms of listening habits overall, YouTube was pegged at 7 percent.

But more teens listen to music through YouTube – 64 percent – than through any other source.

Among teens, YouTube is trailed by radio (56 percent) iTunes (53 percent) and CDs (50 percent).

The new Nielsen report seeks to provide insight on music consumption, from listening and purchasing behaviors, discovery, live events, social networking and mobile music apps.

"The accessibility of music has seen tremendous expansion and diversification," said David Bakula, SVP Client Development, Nielsen. "While younger listeners opt for technologically advanced methods, traditional methods of discovery like radio and word-of-mouth continue to be strong drivers."

Data for Music 360 were collected via 3,000 online U.S. consumer surveys.

Among the other findings:

Positive recommendations from a friend are the most likely to influence decisions on whether or not to buy.

54 percent are more likely to make a purchase based off a positive recommendation from a friend.

25 percent are more likely to make a purchase based off a music blog/chat rooms.

12 percent are more likely to make a purchase based off an endorsement from a brand.

8 percent of all respondents share music on social networking sites, while 6 percent upload music.

Music player apps are most prevalent, followed by radio and music store apps.

AMong those consumers, 54 percent have music player apps on their smartphones.

47 percent have radio apps on their smartphones.

26 percent have music store apps on their smartphones.

Men and boys purchase rock music most often, while girls and women prefer Top 40.

38 percent of males purchase rock most often.

15 percent of females (compared to 9 percent of males) purchase Top 40 most often.

Digital music is seen as a slightly better value than a physical CD.

63 percent of purchasers identified digital albums as a very good or fairly good value.

61 percent identified digital tracks as a very good or fairly good value.

55 percent identified physical CDs as a very good or fairly good value.

Younger consumers who do buy digital tracks are more likely to purchase new music immediately after its release.

33 percent of teens purchased a digital track within one week of release.

21 percent of buyers over 18 purchased a digital track within one week of release.

36 percent of teens have bought a CD in the last year.

51 percent of teens have purchased some kind of music download.

Those 18 to 24 years old are most likely to attend a live music event.

7 percent attend once a week or more.

30 percent attend once a month.

Music spending changes as we age.

41 percent 55 or older reduced their spending to a large degree.

39 percent 45 to 54 reduced their spending to a large degree.

Only 28 percent from 25 to 34 reduced their spending to a large degree.