Time for us to make the headlines. Research conducted by The Leading Question and Music Ally in the UK, US and France has shown that music fans overwhelmingly back ISPs as their preferred music supplier when asked to choose from various possible providers.In fact, 46% of the people surveyed chose ISPs as their top music service provider, compared to 10% who would prefer to get it from their cable or satellite TV providers, 5% from mobile operators, and just 3% from handset manufacturers.And there’s more bad news for Comes With Music and PlayNow Plus: fans rate ISPs as the top choice provider for ‘unlimited’ music services too, over operators or handset makers.”The lesson from this survey is clear. We should listen to the consumer and give them what they want rather than throwing new services at them in the hope that they stick,” says The Leading Question’s CEO Tim Walker.”ISPs need to find new added value offerings as their core service of offering access to internet becomes increasingly commoditised. Music looks like a good bet both for keeping existing customers and getting new ones, particularly if you can bundle in a music service so that it ‘feels’ free or very cheap.”Our survey also asked fans about the measures being taken by ISPs to fight online music piracy. 64% said they would stop file-sharing if sent a warning letter by their ISP, while 76% said they would stop if threatened with actually having their internet connections terminated.However, among respondents who admitted to using file-sharing services, only 41% said they would stop if sent a warning letter, rising to 63% if threatened with disconnection.Here’s what Music Ally CEO Paul Brindley has to say about it. “Our survey shows that music fans in the UK, US and France think that ISPs can help to influence how they use both licensed and unlicensed music. But while warning letters from ISPs may be enough to send out an important message to all music fans, they may not be enough to dissuade the real target group of file sharers from downloading music without paying.”
Tools: platforms to help you reach new audiences
Tools: Kaiber
In the year or so since its launch, AI startup Kaiber has been making waves,…