European consumers lead Americans on nearly every aspect of digital music – except actually paying for it. In the U.S., only about 21 percent of adults polled buy digital music – but, in Europe, it’s less than half that, according to Forrester’s new Digital Music Consumption Around The Globe report.
Author Sonal Gandhi says MP3 players and music phones have failed to convert continental Europeans to buy music for the gadgets to the extent iPod and others have in the U.S. and UK. Europeans still value CDs more highly than downloads and file-sharing is particularly acute in Spain and Italy.
Europeans are more likely to listen to music online, on social networks and from a ripped CD. By contrast, Americans are less sophisticated at using new ways to listen to music – but more likely to buy it when they do. Gandhi: “This lack of enthusiasm for digital music activities is likely to hamper the growth of digital music sales.”
What can be done? “Europe