FRAMINGHAM, Mass.—Despite low adoption today, wireless over-the-air music services could become a booming market segment, with the potential to reach more than 50 million users and exceed more than $1 billion in revenues by 2010, according to a new survey by research firm IDC.
“Wireless OTA music services offer music fans a convenient source of music and bring the music industry new opportunities to reach consumers and drive revenue,” said Susan Kevorkian, program manager of IDC’s Consumer Markets: Audio unit. “Wireless music services are still in their infancy in the U.S., but are expected to quickly gain traction during the forecast period. By the end of this year, the number of U.S. OTA customers will be approximately half that of online music service users, but may surpass them by the end of the forecast period.”
Users in the 25-44 age group could drive growth of the segment, according to IDC. Eight percent of respondents in that age category said they would buy four or more tracks from their service provider during the first three months of availability. Twenty-two percent of overall respondents said they would buy at least one track, according to the survey.
IDC said more music-enabled devices need to reach the market for wireless music services to reach critical mass. The firm said it expects about 60 percent of handsets shipped by 2010 to be music enabled.
