Macworld

The markets for MP3 players in China and South Korea, with nearly 80 per cent of future purchases coming from existing owners, have matured faster than those in the rest of the world, analysts claim.

Parks Associates' new report "Digital Music and Portable MP3 Players", declares that among online populations in China and South Korea, more than three-quarters of consumers who plan to purchase an MP3 player in the next 12 months already own one.

Other countries show a diff ...read more

In a report yesterday, analysts at Parks Associates described a significant reduction in the monthly tariff as "key" for the success of such services, as offered by Napster.

In fact, prices will have to fall significantly for them to succeed - to "below $10 per month", the analysts said, "in order to attract a significant number of MP3 player owners".

From the article "Subscription music service success sticks on price," by Jonny Evans

Parks Associates reckons U.S. consumers are "not overwhelmingly antagonistic" toward copy-protected CDs, apparently.

However, given several years of consumer education by the recording industry, the results (derived from a survey the size of which has not been admitted) are still disappointing.

Consumers want such protected CDs to ship with "proper incentives", the analyst firm claims in its Digital Rights: Content Ownership and Distribution report.

The sample group ...read more

Mercury News reports that woe continues at Apple's competitor: "Napster is losing money, and top executives have left the company, including its president, chief financial officer, vice president of programming and head of corporate communications as well as a key board member."

Parks Associates research analyst John Barrett told Digital Music News last week: "The digital-music market is quickly growing and everyone is jumping into the space. Margins are razor thin, however, ...read more

The digital music distribution industry continues to grow week-by-week, with official US sales tracking agency Nielsen SoundScan revealing that over two million tracks sold online in the US last week.

Parks Associates research analyst John Barrett told Digital Music News last week: "The digital-music market is quickly growing and everyone is jumping into the space. Margins are razor thin, however, and substantial volumes are needed to make a profit. I expect, therefore, that ...read more