AfterDawn: Tech news

MP3 players headed for mainstream

Written by James Delahunty @ 18 Feb 2005 4:19 User comments (2)

MP3 players headed for mainstream Recent studies are showing that American consumers are purchasing MP3 players in huge numbers. It is estimated that 1 in 10 adults owns an iPod or another portable digital audio player. Survey results offered by the Pew Internet and American Life Project (PIP) showa that some 22 million of those aged 18 and older own MP3 players. It shows that 1 in 5 people under the age of 30 own a portable digital audio device, while 14% of those ages 30 to 39 have them, as do 14% of those aged 40 to 48.
The most purchases are made by those in the upscale income brackets, 24% of those in households earning more than $75,000 have the players, while just 6 percent of those earning less than $30,000 have them. A primary reason for the success of the players so far is down to Internet Access growing, especially broadband connections. "When any technology reaches the 10 percent saturation rate, it is no longer occupying a niche, it is on the way to mainstream," PIP director Lee Rainie said.

However, while this seems to be excellent for the music industry in ways, it's not so good in other ways. For example, copy protecting digital content has proven to be a hard task so far for the entertainment industry. While 32% of owners get their music from legal online music stores, predictably, more get their music from P2P networks; approximately 58% of them. This is understandable as younger owners, especially teens, would be more inclined to use P2P networks to get their audio than to use pay-par-download services.

Source:
Yahoo

Previous Next  

2 user comments

118.2.2005 08:32

I've had an mp3 player since the 128MB flash players were around $150. I still have that one until I can get my hands on a Digital Mind Corp. HD player, or something similar.

218.2.2005 11:42

Did they bother to take note of the fact that upscale income earners are the ones buying these? DO they think the kids that get them have the money to buy expensive music DL's? Napster is a joke now, stop subbing and they take it all away. Just another scam to fleece the consumer. THe Music DL's are still over priced, it still costs more than (or as much) as a regular CD, on top of this they are trying to foist their DRM crap on us. THey can keep it. I will listen to my existing collection of CD's and such. I refuse to purchase CD's or DRM'd MP3's until the RIAA and MPAA get it through their heads that the consumer is not their personal cash cow to milk.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

Latest news

VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads VLC hits milestone: over 5 billion downloads (16 Mar 2024 4:31)
VLC Media Player, the versatile video-software powerhouse, has achieved a remarkable feat: it has been downloaded over 5 billion times.
2 user comments
Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit Sideloading apps to Android gets easier, as Google settles its lawsuit (19 Dec 2023 11:09)
Google settled its lawsuit in September 2023, and one of the settlement terms was that the way applications are installed on Android from outside the Google Play Store must become simpler. In the future, installing APK files will be easier.
8 user comments
Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets Roomba Combo j7+ review - Clever trick allows robot vacuum finally to tackle home with rugs and carpets (06 Jun 2023 9:19)
Roomba Combo j7+ is the very first Roomba model to combine robot vacuum with mopping features. And Roomba Combo j7+ does all that with a very clever trick, which tackles the problem with mopping and carpets. But is it any good? We found out.
Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations Neato, the robot vacuum company, ends its operations (02 May 2023 3:38)
Neato Robotics has ceased its operations. American robot vacuum pioneer founded in 2005 has finally called it quits and company will cease its operations and sales. Only a skeleton crew will remain who will keep the servers running until 2028.
5 user comments
How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp How to Send Messages to Yourself on WhatsApp (20 Mar 2023 1:25)
The world's most popular messaging platform, Meta-owned WhatsApp has enabled sending messages to yourself. While at first, this might seem like an odd feature, it can be very useful in a lot of situations. ....
18 user comments

News archive