By Lou Kertesz
The creation of the original Napster and subsequent file sharing networks like Kazaa and technologies like bit torrent trained an entire generation of Internet users that getting music from the Internet was both easy and fun.
The recording industry subsequently tried its very best to keep the consumer locked into the old business model of having you buy a CDs with 20 songs on it when you only really wanted one of them.
That business model is dying a slow death and now even the major music studios have begun to embrace Internet music as a distribution vehicle.
So, the genie is out of the bottle so to speak. Internet music is here to stay. The public has discovered the power and convenience of Internet music.
The reason for this shift is obvious Internet music is where the money is going. For sure, concerts are still big and likely always will be. But Internet music is rapidly becoming the delivery vehicle of choice for many consumers.
Consider the following facts:
* Recently, Accustream iMedia Research pointed to a 26.1 % increase in total listening hours in 2007 to 4.85 billion hours . thats a whole lot of Internet music.
* Such numbers are naturally drawing more advertiser interest with Clear Channel and Citadel Broadcasting having the most visibility.
* Internet radio billings topped $80 million in 2007, according to the group, almost triple the sales of $26.9 million in 2006. Now thats some real Internet music.
* The Internet radio industry is also spinning video-based advertisements which yielded an additional $12-15 million in 2007.
* Can you dig it? Video on Internet radio. I guess those Internet music / radio station owners discovered that since most people who listen to Internet radio do so at their computer which of course has a monitor those Internet music lovers have ears and eyes.
* AOL-owned Shoutcast grabbed the most attention last year, with 48.4 percent of total listening hours, according to the ranking.
* Other top-ranked destinations included Clear Channel Online, Yahoo Music, AOL Radio Networks and Pandora
* Worldwide revenues from downloads, subscription services and CDs that were bought on the internet are expected to reach $10.7 billion in 2010 from $1.5 billion in 2005 according to In-Stat.
* The numbers show that the Internet has evolved into a key distribution channel for legal music sales.
A consumer survey by In-Stat found nearly half of the respondents had downloaded Internet music, with 64 % saying they had paid for their internet music.
I think what the music industry has discovered is that given convenience and reasonable pricing per song people will pay for internet music.
by Lou Kertesz http://www.Audio-Streaming-Software.com
Music
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