Study: Teens Stream Music Instead of Purchasing
By Morelli
A new report from the NPD Group says that teens (age 13 to 17) bought 19 percent less music in 2008 than they did in the previous year. CD purchases also declined 26 percent, and paid digital downloads fell 13 percent compared to 2007. Russ Crupnick, entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group, says in the report:
“With popular music sites like Pandora, imeem, and MySpaceMusic complementing offerings by terrestrial and satellite radio, more teens may be getting their fill of music and feeling less compelled to buy music or share it with others.”
Furthermore, an NPD MusicLab survey revealed that 54 percent of teens who heard a song on MySpace Music will simply listen to that song again online, instead of purchasing the track. And contrary to popular belief, the report shows that teens downloaded 6 percent less files through peer-to-peer networks, like Bittorrent, in 2008.
“While we expected to see the continued decline in CD purchasing among teens in NPD’s music tracking surveys, it was surprising to see that fewer teens downloaded music from P2P sites or borrowed them from friends,” says Crupnick.
The study proves that music consumption is shifting towards streaming services, and that the future of the music industry will lean heavily on advertising instead of direct sales. Are the reasons behind this financial, or are teens just resisting the (sometimes tedious) purchasing process?
Photo via telegraph.co.uk
Source: Billboard
