America has an MP3 player epidemic on its hands
MP3 Player ownership has reached an all-time high.
A study taken by Ipsos, a market research company, has revealed some astonishing figures about the latest technological craze - MP3 players. The study shows, from the 1000 participants, that 1 in 5 people over the age of 12 own an MP3 player and of those people 1 in 20 own more than one. Furthermore, 54% of US teens own an MP3 player. Ipsos have said that this ownership is double what it was in 2003.
There has been a huge boom in the youth market of MP3 players, partly credit to the wide variety of broader content options for their device including such things as videos and pictures. Market leaders Apple with their household name iPods may put it down to the trendy appeal of their products making them more of a fashion accessory than a music playing device.
This is bad news for the music industry and, particuarly the RIAA as this increase in MP3 player ownership is only encouraging illegal downloading of music through peer to peer applications such as Limewire or Soulseek. Despite the influx of websites that allow users to download music at a small cost per track - perfectly legal. Apple's iTunes store being one of these sites. However, this is good news for the artists who get easier promotion of their material.
There has been a huge boom in the youth market of MP3 players, partly credit to the wide variety of broader content options for their device including such things as videos and pictures. Market leaders Apple with their household name iPods may put it down to the trendy appeal of their products making them more of a fashion accessory than a music playing device.
This is bad news for the music industry and, particuarly the RIAA as this increase in MP3 player ownership is only encouraging illegal downloading of music through peer to peer applications such as Limewire or Soulseek. Despite the influx of websites that allow users to download music at a small cost per track - perfectly legal. Apple's iTunes store being one of these sites. However, this is good news for the artists who get easier promotion of their material.