Nielsen Study Unveiled at SXSW Shows Great Promise for the Music Industry

Nielsen has unveiled the findings from “The Buyer and the Beats: The Music Fan and How to Reach Them,” an unprecedented music study created especially for the 2013 SXSW conference attendees that provides beneficial insights about music fans, defined as those who are passionately invested in music. Co-presented by Nielsen and SXSW during this year’s conference in Austin, the report explores how music listeners engage with music and technology, utilize their smartphones, tap into free content, and engage in crowdsourcing; as well as how companies, artists and fans can be better served.”The Buyer and the Beats: The Music Fan and How to Reach Them” reveals that 40% of U.S. consumers ““ those classified as “Fans” ““ are responsible for 75% of music spending. These Fans, who spend between $20 billion and $26 billion on music each year, could spend between $450 million and $2.6 billion more on music if compelling content is made commercially available. Additionally, the study finds that that the most avid of “Fans” have downloaded the most tracks for free–approximately 30 digital songs per fan over the course of a year.”It’s encouraging to see such strong demand for content from music fans,” says David Bakula, SVP Client Development & Analytics for Entertainment, Nielsen. “We are finding that there’s a lot of untapped demand for additional content, which can translate into beneficial and profitable opportunities for artists, labels, and advertisers.”