Forrester Research is reporting that in Europe, music is the top paid digital content.

Nick Thomas with, Mark Mulligan and Erik Hood, report their findings in "Who Will Pay For Online Content?" In a survey conducted in Europe, they found that 14% of European Internet users pay for access to online music, and 25% said they intended to pay for music online in the future. In this way, the report also focuses on the need for developing more music services.

The data was based on European Technographics' Media, Marketing, And Social Computing Online Survey made in June based on about 14,000 people aged 12 and above.

"Music is the most advanced market but still far from maturity," the report said. "While the proportion of European Internet users who claim to have paid to access music online - 14% - is relatively high, the sector is a long way from reaching its potential. Just one-quarter of European Internet users say they would pay for online music in the future, suggesting that the current portfolio of music services fails to meet their needs."

However, the study showed that 58% of those surveyed would not pay for digital content online. The Forrester Research report suggests that this narrow majority still offers some hope.

"Free content may still dominate the Web, but as more services are launched that actually meet users' needs, we can start to map a future for paid content, too," the report stated.

The research suggests that 8% of Internet users have paid to access movies online, while the figure for eBooks is 4%.

However, the survey included people as young as 12 years of age. This is problematic because it is difficult for them to imagine themselves paying for any kind of service.

< previous                                                                                                   next >