Net-connected music fans prefer CDs

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 19 Apr 2006 at 15:59

Internet research group Nielsen//NetRatings claims that in spite of continued use of file-sharing networks, record companies can console themselves that the preferred format on which to own music remains the CD.

Indeed record quarterly CD sales were reported by the BPI of 27.9 million only last week.

The Nielsen//NetRatings report claims that some 75 per cent of UK surfers prefer CDs; nine times the figure for digital downloads at 8 per cent.

Better still for the BPI, 75 per cent of music site visitors buy most or all of their music in a physical format. And while 25 per cent of those polled said that one of the best things about the Internet was the ability to get hold of music for free, just one in 14 say that their entire music collection is a result of downloading from free sources.

General purchasing habits show that we still spend more on the high street than the Internet: 63 per cent versus 37 per cent; but we buy online more often 46 per cent versus 40 per cent, possibly reflecting the cost savings of online pricing.

Alex Burmaster, European Internet Analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings said: 'Despite the fact that Internet users are more likely to have purchased music online than from the high street they are actually spending almost twice as much on music in the high street than they are on the web. Again, this indicates that the high street doom-mongerers are perhaps slightly premature - brick-spend still outperforms click-spend for the music surfer.'

And it's not a case of an ageing and increasingly wealthy population sticking with the tried and trusted high street. The big spenders are the 16 - 24 year old bracket, spending an average of £233 a year, almost twice as much as those 55 and over.

However, the shadow of file-sharing hasn't disappeared. Figures for the leading p2p client used in the UK - LimeWire - show year on year growth of 395 per cent, with a unique audience now greater than Play.com.

Yet the bigger picture still puts legitimate online stores ahead. Burmaster told us that: 'The top five online CD retailers would have a much higher UK unique audience than the top five p2p sites as the former include brands such as Amazon and Tesco.'

The format that really seems to be lagging is the subscription model, such as that adopted by Napster. Despite its low starting point, it has barely doubled its unique audience over the year.

However, Burmaster remained positive over the prospects for music subscriptions. He told us 'The Internet provides new ways of consuming products and media that didn't exist before. Whilst buying a CD online isn't a huge difference from buying one from a shop (you still listen to it in the same way), people have never really consumed music before through a subscription service so it is only natural that this form of consumption will take longer to cement its place in user behaviour. I am sure that once the subscription services improve the way they get the benefits and messages across to the end consumer we will see improved take-up of subscription services.'

For more information, visit the Nielsen//NetRatings website.