Digital music
June 10, 2011
The Media Control survey, which took place at the end of May, revealed that of the sample 2,500 young Germans questioned, just 28 percent used the internet to stream music with the remaining 72 percent claiming never to use the web for this purpose.
For those who do stream music online, the most attractive sites were those offering free services such as Last.fm, with 75 percent of users explaining that they would only access music streaming sites provided there were no costs involved.
Around 19 percent access a mix of free and subscription services while a mere 6 percent used pay-per-use sites exclusively. The most used paysites were Napster and Musicload with Simfy leading the table with around 34 percent of those surveyed subscribing to its service.
"That is something especially fascinating about the results," said Hans Schmucker, Press Officer for Media Control in Baden-Baden, "That at the moment music streaming sites only seem to be used when their services are free."
Digital reluctance
However, according to the survey, some 72 percent of internet users claim never to access streaming sites online, a figure which might strike many as high.
"On the contrary," said Hans Schmucker, "The survey shows that streaming sites already have a solid user base despite the fact that this technology is still relatively new. We can only assume that this user base will continue to grow."
Nevertheless, the uptake of music streaming among young Germans seems rather sluggish as does digital penetration across Germany as a whole.
At the end of April, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry published their annual "Recording Industry in Numbers" report which revealed that for the first time in a decade, Germany had surpassed the UK in physical music sales to become Europe's largest music market. Hesitancy to embrace digital platforms for music-buying was cited as a key reason for Germany’s still buoyant CD market.
"At the moment, I guess it's just not how people here in Germany want to hear their music," said record producer and label chief Mark Reeder, "For a start, Germans are very loyal when it comes to buying CDs, but I also suspect they will prefer to download the tracks they want for free rather than stream music, which they have no control over."
Author: Gavin Blackburn (dpa)
Editor: Rick Fulker