James Delahunty
18 Feb 2005 4:19
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