Free track listens exceed all song sales by 10 times [infographic]
Music software developer Freemake dropped an intriguing infographic in my inbox this morning, claiming most people won't pay for music next year. Heck, who does today, I ask.
My daughter has a music library with more than 7,000 songs, but she now just streams Pandora on her iPhone to connected speakers. She hasn't listened to anything from her own library for months. She pays zero. I'm a big fan of Vevo. I don't often have time to watch music videos, but I can listen to them streaming in the background.
But the infographic packs less punch than it appears. Free music isn't new. That's what radio is all about, and all this free streaming isn't far removed from FM broadcasts. If the cost of music is zero in 2013, so was it in 1973 or 1953. Free music isn't new, nor is it anymore portable. Transistor radios stormed the mass market in the 1960s. Other than choice, what's so different from carrying a smartphone that streams Pandora or Spotify?
The real question is music spending, are people less likely to buy now? There, I see a case, considering the "free" mentality the Internet propagates, particularly among digital natives. Definitely there are more free music services -- and there's always stealing via file sharing -- but how much less likely are people really willing to pay because of them? That's my question for you this morning. Are you less likely to pay for music today than five years ago? Or 10?
