Study: Mac users more honest than PC brethren
updated 12:20 pm EST, Wed December 19, 2007
Study: Mac user honesty
A study conducted by the NPD Group today revealed that Apple owners are much more likely than PC users to pay for music downloads. According to NPD's quarterly Digital Music Monitor, in the third quarter of 2007 half of all Mac users had paid to download music tracks from sites like iTunes, but just 16 percent of PC owners had done so. What's more, Mac users were also more likely to purchase CDs.
"There's still a cultural divide between Apple consumers and the rest of the computing world, and that's especially apparent when it comes to the way they interact with music," said to Russ Crupnick, vice president and entertainment industry analyst for The NPD Group. "Mac users are not only more active in digital music, they are also more likely to buy CDs, which helps debunk the myth that digital music consumers stop buying music in CD format."
NPD's consumer panel data reveals that unit-volume sales share for Apple computers increased from nearly 6 percent in 2006 to almost 9 percent this year. Overall, more than 32 percent of Mac users reported purchasing CDs in the third quarter of 2007 vs. 28 percent of PC users, and Mac users were more likely to listen to music as well as watch videos on their MP3 players and computers. Some 34 percent of Mac users had uploaded music to their MP3 players, according to the study, compared to 16 percent of PC users. Further, 56 percent of Mac users reported listening to music on their computers vs. 31 percent of PC users.
"While the market for digital music is growing, it's growing slower than many would like it to -- CD sales are still declining and digital music has not replaced those lost sales," Crupnick said. "The more consumers become comfortable paying for digital music, the more chance they will evangelize to others. And at this point in the game, it's the growing base of Apple consumers that are the industry's low-hanging fruit when it comes to converting from physical to digital music."
Interesting
12/19, 12:30pm reply
However, this could mean a lot of things.
- Since Macs are seen as prestige products, Mac users may simply have more money to spend on music.
- Since Mac users are more likely to be in creative roles and industries, their appreciation of intellectual property rights may be greater.
- Since Apple makes iTunes, the iPod, and the ITMS, Mac users may be more likely to download music because they have a user-friendly ecosystem at their fingertips.
- A good percentage of PC owners are businesses. Clearly, businesses don't download music, consumers do.
What is really interesting is that most competitors to iTunes don't even work on the Mac. If, as this report suggests, Mac users represent a disproportionate market share of music sales, then ignoring them is an especially bad idea.
njfuzzy
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@njfuzzy
12/19, 12:41pm reply
first 2 are very good points. But #3 makes no sense since iTunes, iPod & iTMS exist on both platforms.
eldarkus
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Or....
12/19, 12:45pm reply
Maybe Mac users are just more likely to lie in surveys?
Guest
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Joined: Nov 1999
Exactly...
12/19, 12:51pm reply
how does paying for music translate to "more honest"...? As guest says above, Mac users may be more inclined to lie in surveys, or maybe PC users are more into free or CC-licensed music? Or maybe they're not into music much at all. Or maybe they HAVE so much music they don't need to buy more. Or maybe they have more disposable income to buy music?
How "mac users more likely to buy online music and CDs" is translated to "Mac users more honest than PC brethren" is beyond me.
W
VValdo
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Joined: May 2001
true
12/19, 01:01pm reply
Compared to typical PC users, a higher ratio of professionals, including DJs and creative types who value intellectual property use Macs.
As to vvaldo, just because you can't afford to buy music and has to illegally download music doesn't mean people on another computer platform does that.
You do know that iTunes has sold a few BILLION songs?
dliup
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lossless quality = CDs
12/19, 01:04pm reply
...this is certainly a factor for me, in enjoying both quality sound & driving sales of larger capacity iPods...
I have not yet bought an iTune, nor do I intend to, but do believe in copyright & artists being compensated - interesting how blank media copyright surcharges tend to muddy such waters, arguably undermining the rights protection issue...
bobolicious
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Re: @njfuzzy
12/19, 01:12pm reply
Actually, I thought #4 didn't make much sense, since it was a survey of consumers, not some general "We looked at all the PCs out there, and determined 16% had purchased music".
But there are some other thoughts. As stated, Mac users might 'lie', the way people say "Sure, I watch PBS and C-SPAN all the time! The networks have nothing but c***." when they're really closet "Desparate Housewives" whores who've only watched PBS for the pledge drives.
Or maybe Mac users, used to paying too much for Macs, Mac-compatible hardware, and Mac-compatible software, see paying for music as just another thing they pay for.
testudo
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Somehow I always
12/19, 01:25pm reply
suspected that PC and Windows users were thieves at heart. So if Windows users move to the Mac platform will they become more honest or just bring down Mac users honesty base?
I used a Windows machine just once years ago and I suddenly felt an urge to pirate music, videos and software. Now as a dedicated Mac user, I can't seem to break the habit. Should I seek a support group or get Verizon FiOS instead? I think I'll go with FiOS because it feels so good to get stuff without paying for it. I must be a PC user at heart.
Constable Odo
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anecdotal
12/19, 02:14pm reply
Two of my students just received acceptance letters to MIT yesterday. Both are Mac users. What kind of conclusion should I draw from it?
Paul Huang
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re: Testurdo
12/19, 02:33pm reply
Just because you can only afford a yugo doesn't mean BMWs are overpriced. Go back to babysitting your turrents.
About pricing, forgive me, but iWork with Office 2007 compatibility is $79. Office is how much?
OSX is $129. Vista is how much?
dliup
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