Online Consumers Most Interested in Music Discovery Apps

Global online consumers generally show the highest levels of mobile music application-related interest in mobile music discovery apps, according to a new report from Nielsen Music. Data from “The Hyper-Fragmented World of Music” indicates music discovery apps are the leading form of mobile music apps in every region except Middle East/Africa/Pakistan (MEAP), whey they are tied with artist applications as interesting almost 40% of consumers.

Regional Tastes Differ in Mobile Music Apps

Music discovery apps interest more than 50% of online consumers in Asia Pacific and Latin America. Live concert apps do substantially better in Latin America than other regions with interest levels approaching 40%, while North America shows unusually high interest in streaming music apps (more than 40%).

Mobile Music App Interest Skews Young

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nielsen analysis shows younger consumers aged 21-24 are most interested in mobile music apps in general and also the premier consumers of music apps. Thirty-three percent of global online respondents in this age segment answered positively to having used or downloaded music apps in the three months prior to questioning in September 2010.
Notably, however, they don’t necessarily have the highest budget, and formed the age group who had the greatest proportion (71%) allocating only $5 USD for monthly expenditure.

Latin America Leads Free Music Downloading

When it comes to downloading and/or sharing free online music files, Latin American consumers are clear global leaders. Forty-five percent of Latin American online consumers used a filesharing program to download/share free music in the three months preceding September 2010, followed closely by online consumers in Asia Pacific (more than 40%).
Online consumers in MEAP also had relatively high participation in free music file downloading/sharing (about 40%). Rates were much lower in the EU (about 20%) and North America (about 10%).

Music Streaming Interests Young Males

Data on awareness of and interest in music streaming services shows that males and young consumers are most likely to be aware of these services and have an interest in them. Close to 30% of males, compared to slightly less than 20% of females, fall into the aware/interested category.
Looking at age-related figures, the highest percentage of consumers who are aware of and interested in music streaming services are 21 to 24 (more than 30%), followed closely in order by the age brackets of 25 to 29, 30 to 34, and under 20. Consumers in age brackets of 60 to 64 and 65-plus have interest/awareness levels well below 10%.

21-24-Yr-Olds Lead Paid Mobile Downloads

Despite regional differences in popularity and consumption methods, other Nielsen analysis indicates the profile of a “primary” consumer of legal digital music tracks can be identified as a man in his early 20s. More than 20% of global respondents aged 25-29 paid to download a music track to their computer in the three months prior to questioning. This figure rises to 30% for the 21-24 sample where mobile phones are concerned.
From age 30 onward, both computer and mobile legal downloader percentages drop regularly and significantly, with a more negative trend for mobile access.
About the Data: 26,644 online consumers in 53 markets across the globe were surveyed during September 2010.