Boom In Digital Music Players Could Endanger Radio
New research published by Informa Media Group indicates that global sales of digital music players, such as the Apple iPod, will double in 2004 to more than 20 million units, a statistic that could add to the worries of radio executives attempting to launch digital stations.
Earlier this month Ofcom’s head of market intelligence, Peter Davies, revealed a challenge to digital radio from personal music players, recommending that broadcasters and manufacturers redouble efforts to make the medium more attractive to all-important young early adopters (see DAB Broadcasters Face Threat From Ipod Generation).
The latest research from Informa predicts that the popularity of high-capacity personal music players will continue to rise at an average annual rate of almost 45% until the end of the decade. By 2010 the group estimates that total sales will have risen to over 194 million units. This is in stark contrast to Ofcom’s prediction of one million digital radio sets, portable or otherwise, in UK households by the end of the year.
According to Informa’s The Future of Portable Music report, as consumers become more familiar with managing the storage of their music collection, the desired number of tracks held on some of the larger players is likely to increase, with more choice spelling bad news for broadcasters seeking to offer listeners something different.
Speaking at last week’s Radio Academy Radio Festival in Birmingham, Davies unveiled research into the opinions of 18 to 20 year-olds towards DAB radio, revealing that many young listeners branded the format, and its associated equipment, as “expensive and undesirable”.
Contributing to the presentation Mark Ellis, director of research firm The Knowledge Agency, said: “There is a communications job to be done. There is nothing as sexy as the iPod for DAB. But those who have digital radio find it changes their lives and are advocates of the technology.”
The market for digital music players has been one of the fastest growing in history, with Apple’s offering becoming an style and music icon in its own right. This week saw the computing firm unveil a new version with increased functionality, slightly reduced size and, most importantly, a lower price, putting further pressure on radio to play catch-up in the personal music arena.
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