Having fundamentally altered the way consumers search for, and purchase, products, the internet is having a huge impact on various different industries today.
The high street is no longer the only place to visit when you need to make a purchase, whether that is for clothes, cosmetics, music or movies. It may have once been commonplace to conduct daily transactions on the high street, but an increasing number of people are now choosing to shop online; there are around 1. 6 billion internet users worldwide and around 85% have used the world-wide-web to make a purchase.
One of the biggest consequences of the digital revolution has taken place within the music industry, with more people than ever swapping CDs in favour of downloading music. Consumer demand for music is at an all time high, with annual sales of digital music attracting revenues of US$3. 7 billion in 2008.
2008 additionally saw a growth of 24% in downloads of singles, whilst digital album sales grew by 36%. Underlining the sheer popularity of music downloads, the top selling single of 2008 saw 9. 1 million units being sold, a figure standing at 1. 8 million more than the previous year.
In terms of digital music consumption, the US is a clear leader, accounting for around half of its market value. Breaking the one billion barrier in 2008, single track download sales reached 1. 1 billion and digital album sales increased by 32% to hit 66 million in America alone. Japanese consumers also account for a large share of the marketplace, while Britain saw the largest rise in digital sales in the first half of 2008.
Offering users access to millions of songs online, there are numerous advantages to music download sites. For example, not only is it possible to find and listen to a huge range of music at the touch of a button, it usually takes a mere 30 seconds to download a song with a standard broadband connection.
Furthermore, it is possible to hear a song or album before you buy it, meaning you can listen to an artist’s music without having to purchase the whole album and therefore reduce the risk of downloading music that you don’t like.
Generally speaking, there are two ways to buy music online. The first is based on a pay-as-you-go basis, whereby you can search for a song or album and then pay to download it. This is a great option for those who don’t intend to download a lot of music.
The second option, recommended for those who will regularly download music, takes the form of a monthly subscription. You can stream entire songs or albums, as well as create playlists.
Once you have paid for the music you want and downloaded it, it is then yours to keep, meaning you can listen to it when you want, where you want. In this way, music downloads have had a huge impact on the way people interact with, and listen to, music.