Posted: 15th Jul, 2003 By: MarkJ
Jupiter Research has today said that more still needs to be done in order to convince surfers of the need to pay for a digital music service. This, above all else, will require closer co-operation between ISPs and music firms:
Whilst 29% of BSPs remain confident that digital music will ultimately generate revenues, major barriers to uptake remain, with too little major label content available online, overly restrictive digital rights and low broadband penetration.
According to the Jupiter survey, access to online music remains a driver for consumer broadband uptake, but consumers still primarily see this as a route to gaining improved access to illegal file sharing sites, indicating that file sharing will become an increasing problem for BSPs, placing greater strain on their networks.
However, Jupiter did note that 2003 has so far been a year of progress and expects this continue throughout the remainder of the year, with labels making more of their catalogue available for digital distribution and over half of BSPs interviewed stating that they intend to launch a music service later in the year.The report also found that 18% of surfers admit they are still using illegal file sharing services, while 43% say they don't see the need to pay for music online. More @
netimperative.com .