April 2014
Featured in this insight: Culture, heritage & leisure, IT & telecommunications
Market research finds physical format music more popular than digital downloads: Findings from a new survey conducted by ICM Research suggest that physical formats are still more popular than digital downloads for purchasing music. In the last year, three fifths (57%) of the 2,030 respondents had bought a CD, while two fifths (39%) had purchased an MP3 download.
Analysts suggest that more than a tenth (15%) of people buy CDs, vinyl and cassette tapes with no intention of ever listening to them – they are purchased simply to own the physical copy.
Maurice Fyles, who worked on the research ahead of Record Store Day, said:
"There's definitely a novelty value with cassettes at the moment, particularly as we suspect a high proportion of them are collectibles sitting on a shelf and never played."
When it comes to buying music, Brits spend more money online than on the high street, mainly because it’s convenient (70%). Four in ten (41%) spend more online in a single visit, three in ten (29%) spend more in store per visit. This difference is least marked in 28-34 year olds (30% spend more in store; 34% more online), while the older music buyers (aged 35+) tend to spend more online
View more of our sector specific insights: Culture, heritage & leisure, IT & telecommunications
