MP3 Technology Bridging Internet

(PRWEB) June 12, 2000

MP3 Technology Bridging Internet Generation Gap

Global Survey From Angus Reid Group Finds Downloading Music Has Wide Appeal

Vancouver, June 9, 2000 – When it comes to downloading their favourite songs on MP3 files, both adults and youth are getting in the groove with the new technology. According to two recent global studies conducted by the Angus Reid Group Inc., 36% of all adult Internet users and 41% of teens and young adult Internet users have downloaded music from the Web in MP3 or similar formats.

Among teenaged Internet users aged 12-17 in ten recently surveyed countries, Angus Reid found that 44% had downloaded a music file, compared to 38% of the 18-24 year olds. And in an earlier Angus Reid global survey of adult Internet users, nearly one in three young adults, or 35% of 25-34 year olds and 33% of 35-44 year olds in the same countries had downloaded music files themselves. The practice has reached middle aged and older adult Internet users as well, with 23% of Internet users over age 45 reporting that they had downloaded music.

Once they download a music file, Internet users plan to come back for more – over 80% of adults who had downloaded a music file indicated they would be at least somewhat likely to do it again over the next 12 months. Charts available online

“Teens and young adults still represent the biggest share of this market, since a higher proportion of the them are online than adults in most countries,” said Clay Braziller, Vice President, Interactive Strategy for the Angus Reid Group. “But as adults go online, they are clearly starting to take up sampling and downloading for themselves.”

“This is one of the first technologies we have seen on the Net that adults are beginning to adopt as quickly as the youth,” Braziller added. “Teenagers might be in the driver’s seat in the American market, but in other parts of the world adults are also keen to download their choice of music.”

Globally, the incidence of music downloading among adult Internet users is highest in the developing countries of Asia and Latin America where as many as half of the Internet users surveyed had downloaded a music file, compared to one in three adult Internet users in the US (35%). In the ten countries where teenagers and young adults were surveyed, more than half of South Korean youth were downloading their favourite songs – more than teens in any other country surveyed to date. Among adult Internet users, the South Koreans, Argentines and Italians were the most likely to report downloading their favorite music from the Internet.

“Internet users are more excited about downloading MP3 or other music content in countries where there is not a well stocked music store in every local shopping mall,” Braziller said. “It all fits together when we see how popular downloading has become among users in a country like South Korea, which has one of the highest levels of Internet usage in Asia and is also one of the leading manufacturers of MP3 recording devices.”

So far, it appears that downloading MP3 files has not completely supplanted purchases of CDs, at least not over the Internet. Internet users who have downloaded music files are more likely than others to report that their last online purchase was a music CD. “We believe this is the beginning of a transitional stage in how music is being marketed and distributed,” Braziller said. “Music lovers in different age groups and different countries are quickly learning how take advantage of the vast selection now available in the market place. No one can really say what this multi-billion dollar industry will look like in two years, though it is clear its path will be driven both by the technology and the existing retailing infrastructure that is already out there.”

Methodology

Information on the use of MP3 among adult Internet users is from The Face of the Web, an Angus Reid Group study of Internet users in 34 countries completed earlier this year.

The information on the use of MP3 among youth is based on preliminary results from interviews from The Face of the Web – Youth conducted among 3,300 respondents in Argentina, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, the UK and the USA in March. Interviewing was conducted by telephone, except in Argentina and South Korea where in-person interviews were used. All samples were nationally representative, except in Argentina where coverage was limited to urban areas. National samples each consisted of 300 12-24 year olds, except in the USA where 600 interviews were conducted. Results outside the USA are accurate within an error margin of no more than plus/minus 6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20; in the USA, the results are accurate within an error margin of no more than plus/minus 4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The remainder of the Face of the Web -Youth interviewing is now underway in six additional countries, including Canada, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Urban Brazil, Mexico, and China. The Face of the Web – Youth is the companion survey to the Angus Reid Group’s annual Face of the Web survey that covers adult Internet awareness and usage in 34 countries across the world.

About Angus Reid

Established in 1979, the Angus Reid Group is among the world’s leading research companies, providing a full array of marketing and social research services to the private and public sectors. Founded by Dr. Angus Reid, the Angus Reid Group has conducted extensive research in 80 countries and in 40 languages and serves clients around the world through 11 offices and 300-full-time and 800 part-time staff. For more information visit http://www.angusreid.com

For more information about The Face of the Web Youth, please contact Chris Adams, vice-president of global research, at 1-888-210-7425 or info@angusreid.com

For more information on this release, please contact:

Clay Braziller

Vice President Interactive Strategy

Angus Reid Group Inc.

(604) 893 1622

clay.braziller@angusreid.com

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