A new study from Nielsen says that radio and friends' recommendations still drive music fans more than blogs or social networking. According to USA Today, the Nielsen Music 360 Study found that 43 percent of respondents discover music most often through the radio, with 13 percent finding new music via their friends. Eight percent said they discover music by watching YouTube.

Only ten percent of those surveyed share music via social network and just eight percent upload music online. Positive recommendations from friends are most likely to influence music purchases for 57 percent of respondents, with 27 percent citing blogs or chat rooms.

An overview of the Nielsen report will be released later this week. Other notable findings reported by USA Today included:

• Each month, consumers spend an average $22.70 on music, $36.60 on video games and $83.30 on TV packages (excluding premium channels).

• Digital albums and tracks were deemed a very or fairly good value by 62 percent and 61 percent, respectively, while 56 percent identified physical CDs as a very or fairly good value.

• Young consumers (33 percent of teens and 34 percent of those 25-34) purchased a digital album or track within one week of release.

• The group aged 18-34 frequents live music events most often, with six percent attending once a week or more and 32 percent once a month. But teens are more likely to buy T-shirts at a concert (54 percent compared to 46 percent of the 18-34 set) and posters (14 percent compared to seven percent).

•Among smartphone owners, 53 percent have music player apps, 44 percent have radio apps and 28 percent have music store apps.

•The recession has reduced spending on music to a large degree for 26 percent of the 25-34 age group, 38 percent of those 45-54 and 40 percent for respondents 55 and older.