[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #211: Paying for online content

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #211: Paying for online content
January 5th, 2011

dollar sign with download symbol 
<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Dollar_Internet1.png>Just 
at the end of the year, the Pew Internet & American Life 
Project released a report 
<http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Paying-for-Content/Overview.aspx> 
indicating that "65% of Internet users have paid for online 
content." In fact, you probably saw some variation of that 
phrase repeated several times in the media (as evidenced by 
the titles of the articles listed below). It's worth going 
beyond the headlines and paying a little closer attention to 
the details of this report because it could indicate future 
trends that affect the borrowing practices of library users. 
For example, how many people are willing to pay for movies 
and e-books delivered directly to them over the Internet, 
rather than borrowing them from a library? What differences 
are there between age groups and income brackets? What 
factors determine what types of online content people are 
likely to buy? And what does all this tell us about the best 
future use of library funds for purchasing content?

    * Parsing Pew: What the latest online content buying
      numbers really say
      <http://paidcontent.org/article/419-parsing-pew-what-the-latest-online-content-buying-numbers-really-say/>
      (paidContent/Staci D. Kramer) "...Pew has a very broad
      definition of content ranging from music, software and
      gaming 'cheats' to newspapers, magazines, e-books,
      adult content and dating services. The distinctions
      were often blurred between kinds of content and
      containers. For instance, one category was 'a digital
      newspaper, magazine, journal article, or special
      report' but other options included apps and premium or
      members-only content. That makes it difficult to hone
      in on what people are willing to pay for---the actual
      content or the way content is delivered."
    * 65 percent of Internet users have bought content
      online
      <http://arstechnica.com/web/news/2010/12/65-percent-of-internet-users-have-bought-content-online.ars>
      (Ars Technica/Casey Johnston) "Of the people who use
      the Internet but don't buy content, those ages 30-49
      were the least likely to abstain from digital
      purchases---29 percent haven't bought anything,
      compared to 33 percent of 18-29 year olds and 39
      percent of 50-64 year olds. This indicates the 30-49
      age bracket makes a good target for companies that are
      looking to sell online content, as it has the largest
      overlap between technological literacy and financial
      security."
    * Pew shows 65% of people pay for digital content
      <http://techcrunch.com/2010/12/30/pew-65-percent-pay-digital-content/>
      (TechCrunch/Erick Schonfeld) "What about digital
      newspapers or magazines behind paywalls or for sale
      for tablets like the iPad? A respectable 18 percent of
      respondents say they have paid for news or other
      reports online. That even beats out the 16 percent who
      have paid for movies or TV shows. Media companies will
      love that stat. And ebooks? Only 10 percent have
      bothered to pay for those."
    * 65% of Web users buy digital content: More music,
      fewer e-books
      <http://gigaom.com/2010/12/30/65-of-web-users-buy-digital-content-more-music-fewer-e-books/>
      (GigaOM/Kevin C. Tofel) "Digital books for most
      platforms can be read on a wide array of devices:
      smartphones, computers, tablets and of course,
      dedicated e-reader devices. Even though it won't share
      sales numbers, Amazon recently pointed out that its
      newest Kindle is the best selling product on Amazon
      <http://gigaom.com/mobile/amazon-kindle-best-seller-tablet/>.
      Between that news and the cross-platform support for
      e-book content, I would have expected more spending on
      e-books from the Pew Internet survey."

*/Money Fact:/*

The amount of money spent for online content by the 
respondents to the Pew survey averaged $47 per month; 
however, Pew noted that a few high-end users skewed this 
average, and the typical buyer of online content only spent 
about $10 per month.
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