13 January 2005
Online music: behaviours and attitudes - US
In two reports US slow to purchase music online and Digital music age gap, eMarketer proposes a round-up of research on online music: practices, interest, adoption, market share, market size.
There are very big age differences in digital music sharing and reproduction
18-24 years old (41%) burn CDs, vs. 14% of those over 25
In the same age group, 31% use file sharing programs, vs. 4% of those over 25 (data from JupiterResearch, December 2004)
There are also large differences in the interest for subscription services
Interest is highest among music aficionados (37%) (defined as those who have spent more than 33€ on music in the past three months and engage in digital music activities on a regular basis) and among 18-24 years old (31%). Less so among teens aged 13 to 17 (19%), and adults (17%). Greater disposition to use P2P services, lower credit card penetration and income may explain teens' limited interest. Concerning adults, the majority (51%) think tangible records are more valuable than digital; and only some (16%) express interest for downloading single tracks.
Adoption
Forrester Research (July, 2004) finds that there are 7,6 M US households equipped with MP3 players.
An InsightExpress survey (October 2004) estimates that 12% of US adults have bought music from an online music store. Respondents who haven't preferred to buy music at traditional music stores; do not own a digital music player; find that music downloading lacks appeal. What is important for customers is that online stores offer:
- low prices
- rich music selection
- availability of music previews
- compatible files
Market size and market share
Estimates for US online music revenues in 2004 vary widely, between 104 and 384 M$. Apple iTunes, since its opening in April 2003, is by far the market leader, with 70% market share of all paid music downloads (NPD Group, October 2004), followed by Napster (11%), RealNetworks, MusicMatch and Wal-Mart with 6%.
Posted at 01:21 AM in Online Music | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack