Digital Music Fans Want Good Sound

• Posted: Saturday, March 17, 2007
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• Author: pradhana
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• Filed under: Digital Content, Market Survey

What will it take to beat iTunes?

Given Apple's dominance in digital music, that may be an academic question, since it doesn't look like anyone else has a chance at overtaking the company at the moment.

For those inclined to try, paying more attention to sound quality may be the answer, according to a new study by Ipsos Insight. Most respondents (82%) who had heard of one or more fee-based digital music services listed sound quality as the most important service attribute.

Ease of use and search were each named by 80% of respondents as important as well.

In an oblique reference to digital rights management (DRM), the sample group was asked if it was important that fee-based digital music services "Give me the freedom to do what I want with the music I buy," and 76% said yes.

Respondents were also asked to name the best digital music service. iTunes was named by 41% of respondents, and Napster by 11%. The study has been conducted three years in a row, and iTunes' rating has increased every year, while Napster's has gone down.

Other services such as MySpace, Rhapsody and WalMart.com were also-rans, with each named as the best service by less than 10% of respondents. [eMarketer]

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