Compared to 2008, buyers of music downloads through the Internet actually deceased in 2009 by about one million people. The figures come from the NPD Group, but Russ Crupnick, an NPD senior industry analyst, believes there is no reason for the music industry to panic about the declining digital music customers.
Speaking at the Digital Music East conference on Wednesday, he told a gathering of music and technology executives that most of the lost customers were older users who had only recently started using the Internet for the first time and decided to try out music download sites.
In fact, the average music downloader is now spending more money on music than previously. Consumers spend an average of $50 a year on music downloads, up from $33. "You got some maturity in the marketplace," Crupnick told the audience.
"If I ran a record label, the first thing I would do is go out and hire a consumer promotion person from Kraft or Colgate. The consumer is saying they wanted to be promoted to and persuaded to come try this." He suggested that the music industry follow the examples of Kraft and Colgate and attempt to entice consumers with promotions such as bundled songs at low prices.
In fact, the average music downloader is now spending more money on music than previously. Consumers spend an average of $50 a year on music downloads, up from $33. "You got some maturity in the marketplace," Crupnick told the audience.
"If I ran a record label, the first thing I would do is go out and hire a consumer promotion person from Kraft or Colgate. The consumer is saying they wanted to be promoted to and persuaded to come try this." He suggested that the music industry follow the examples of Kraft and Colgate and attempt to entice consumers with promotions such as bundled songs at low prices.
