James Delahunty
15 Apr 2005 10:08
According to market research firm In-Stat, the Global music download market is going to reach €780m in 2005. That is a growth increase of 134%. The firm says that increasing competition between sites is a key factor in the growth. More sites are adding more and more music tracks to their catalogue attempting to attract new customers. Apple of course is still ahead of the market with its 70% share, continuing to sell millions of digital downloads.
Sites are also beginning to sell more live performances and remixes of music, which is attracting more customers. The market so far is all about consumer loyalty, another area where Apple rules above the rest by gaining a lot of respect from its customers for its pricing models and reliability. However, P2P and online music piracy refuses to back down and continues to cause headaches all across Hollywood.
In a survey, half of the people admitted that they have downloaded music without paying for it. The average person who paid for music, spent €19.5 (on average) in the last year on it. However, despite piracy, consumers are showing more awareness and interest in legal music stores. The survey also showed that more people are using portable digital audio players. 35% of al respondents own an MP3 player, and 70% of them say it is their first.
Source:
DMeurope.com