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Survey: European Youth Increasingly Ditching TV, Radio for Web

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2005 - 8:38am.
London -- European youth are spending less time watching TV and listening to the radio in favor of surfing the Internet, according to a survey of 15-24 year-olds across Europe conducted by the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA). Of those surveyed, 46% said they watch less TV as a result of using the Internet; 34% said they talk on the phone less; 33% said they read fewer newspapers; and 22% said they don't listen to the radio as much. In terms of overall media consumption, European youth still spend the most time watching TV (31%), compared with radio (27%), the Internet (24%) and newspapers (10%). Almost half of the young people surveyed said they were prepared to pay for music online (47%), while 25% said they would pay for online gaming. "The 15-24 age group is the holy grail for most advertisers and the EIAA research conclusively demonstrates the extent to which the internet now represents an essential media for this audience, increasingly replacing other media including TV and radio, said EIAA chairman Michael Kleindl.
tags: Internet | Radio | TV | Youth | Power | Web | Survey | Teenager | satistics |

Report: Free File-Sharing Services Still Dominate Digital Music

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2005 - 8:24am.
Port Washington, N.Y. -- Although legal digital music stores like iTunes and Napster are growing in popularity, free peer-to-peer file-sharing services are still the source for the lion's share of digital music downloads, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. A survey found U.S. consumers downloaded 243 million songs from free peer-to-peer services in March 2005, while 26 million songs were purchased from online stores. Legal stores are gaining ground though, as NPD notes that in 2003, there were 20 U.S. households who used peer-to-peer for every one household paying for downloads; in 2004, that figure dropped to 3-to-1, and in March 2005 the ratio stood at about 2-to-1. Among consumers trying out digital music for the first time, 41% said they began downloading when they adopted broadband; 30% said they got a better computer; 22% said had purchased an MP3 player; interestingly, 34% said they were the recipient of a digital music promotional offer. However, among those who tried paid services, only 55% returned to buy more downloads -- citing prices and confusing usage rights -- while 85% went back to a peer-to-peer service. NPD said the music industry's lawsuit against file-swappers appear to be having an effect on file-sharing: nearly half of users ages 13 to 25 who said they stopped file-swapping cited the lawsuits as their primary concern. "Between April 2003 when the lawsuits were announced and April 2004 there was a 16 percent decline in the number of songs acquired from P2P; however, those levels have been creeping up again recently although the rise is lagging the growth of broadband," said NPD president Russ Crupnick.
tags: Reports | File-Sharing | Digital Music | Dominate |

IFPI: One in Three CDs Sold Worldwide is Pirated

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2005 - 8:23am.
London -- One in three CDs sold worldwide is a pirated copy, part of a $4.6 billion global market for pirated music, according to a report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). A total of 1.2 billion pirated discs were sold in 2004, or 34% of all discs sold worldwide. However, IFPI added that the growth of disc piracy has slowed to its lowest level in five years, and sales of all pirate recordings actually fell slightly, to 1.5 billion units, while the value of the pirate music market was flat overall, compared with 2003. Sales of pirated music were found to exceed legitimate music sales in a record 31 countries in 2004, including Greece, India and the Czech Republic. The IFPI identified ten "priority" countries where piracy is at unacceptable levels and urgent government action is needed: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Russia, Spain and Ukraine. It also drew attention to Canada, Korea, Taiwan and Bulgaria as countries whose online and physical piracy is of concern to the industry. "The music industry fights piracy because if it did not the music industry would quite simply not exist," said IFPI chairman and CEO John Kennedy. "Billions of dollars of investment go into releasing and marketing over 100,000 albums in a single year, and this is only possible when there is good, effective enforcement of copyright."
tags: IFPI | CDs | Worldwide |

Portable DVR Maker Archos Gets $9 Million Investment From EchoStar

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2005 - 8:21am.
Irvine, Calif. -- French consumer electronics firm Archos announced on Thursday that it has received a $9 million strategic investment from EchoStar Communications, operator of the DISH Network satellite TV service. Under the deal, Archos will provide EchoStar with portable digital video recorders that DISH Network subscribers can use to download TV content directly from a set-top box for viewing on the go. EchoStar plans to begin delivering the Archos portable video recorders -- which will disable the digital output found on other Archos devices -- in the fall of 2005.
tags: DVR | EchoStar | Investment | Archos | Portable |

Radio Giant Clear Channel to Expand Podcast Programming

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 23, 2005 - 8:19am.
San Antonio, Texas -- Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio station owner, announced on Thursday that it plans to expand the number of podcast feeds offered by its stations. The format offers pre-recorded programs in digital files that can be automatically downloaded to an MP3 player. After debuting the podcast show "Phone Tap" on Clear Channel's WHTZ-FM Z100 station, the company today launched 20 new podcast feeds from an additional 12 stations, with 10 more planned to launch later this week. Among the new Clear Channel stations to offer talk radio shows in podcast format will be WAQX and WKTU in New York; KYSR in Los Angeles; WLW-AM in Cincinnati; and WDVE in Pittsburgh.
tags: Radio | Channel | Podcast | Programs |