Is mobile the future of the music industry

Is mobile the future of the music industry? By Johnny Davis. Music Report. “There’s only music so that there’s new ringtones…” arctic monkeys Foreword. by Keith Jopling, Director of Research and Strategic Analysis, International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The digital revolution has changed the way people buy music forever. In the first half of 2006 alone sales of physical formats such as CDs were down 10% on the previous year and download sales up by a massive 106%. This momentous change in our music purchasing behaviour has been driven by the consumer, who wants instant gratification, 24 hour access to new music and portability above all else. And of course the consumers leading the digital revolution have been the younger age group – the under 24s who adopt new technologies quicker than their elders. However digital music is nothing new to Britain’s youth – they probably owned their first music as downloads. The latest trend to emerge is the rise of the mobile phone as the purchasing method of choice for the ‘I want it now’ generation. Music bought over a mobile phone is now the fastest growing sector of the UK music market – in the first half of 2006 it was already up 100% on 2005 – and it is set to grow even faster over the next few years as more and more mobile operators see the value of selling music. And it’s hugely encouraging that 25% of customers on 3 are under 24 – proof that young consumers will pay for music when they see value for money. 3 has been at the forefront of establishing mobile as a music retail channel. Kicking off with music video in 2004 and then audio tracks last year, 3 now has 75% of the mobile music market and is really driving the sector in the UK. As such they have commissioned an in-depth study into where the market is heading, including an analysis of their music sales figures to date, a massive survey into the attitudes of 2,000 under 24 year olds to music buying and the views of several big name players in the music industry. This report summarises the findings – and contrary to the Arctic Monkeys suggestion, it seems the mobile music market is about much more than ringtones… Planet Funk Introduction. I t’s curtains for the music business: that’s what everyone thought when the internet’s potential was first realised. Now, having emerged from a period of jitters, the industry is in the rudest of health. And downloading has been its saving grace. While CD sales are declining, the last couple of years have seen extraordinary growth in the digital music business. In the UK, sales of pop singles are at their highest for six years. We download almost one million songs every week. Our online music market is now the fastestgrowing in Europe, up 106% in the first half of 2006. Globally, 420 million tracks were downloaded in 2005, up more than twenty times on two years ago. Far from being the industry’s death rattle, downloading has generated billions of pounds in revenues and created thousands of jobs. And while sales of recorded music totalled £17 billion in 2005, that’s small change compared to the turnover of an increasingly diverse commercial sector, one that includes festivals, music publishing, performance rights collections, radio advertising and so on. Today, more people are consuming more music than ever before. “Whenfreesharingofmusicfilestookoff,itseemed that was the end of the record industry. There was no doubt we had our head in the sand. We were the dumbestindustryintheworld.Theconsumerwas, andstillis,fivestepsaheadofus.They’redictating. Butdigitalhasgivenusasecondbiteofthecherry. We’vejustgottomakesurewedon’tscrewitup. Themostexciting,andthemostdaunting, time is now. ” – Ged Doherty, Chairman and CEO of SonyBMG “The whole notion of the single is changed by digital. For 40 years a single was what a record company chose to release and promote as a single. In an age ofdigitalandanageoftracks,it’sthecustomer whoischoosingthesingle,nottheindustry. The industry will respond to what people choose. ” – Steve Redmond, Director Of Communications, BPI. Growth of Digital Downloads in UK singles chart Gnarls Barkley In September, the British Phonographic Institute (BPI) revealed that digital downloads in the UK have more than tripled in the last year to account for 78% of all single sales. That’s a huge shift compared to a figure of 14% when downloads first became eligible for chart inclusion. Famously, 2006 has been a landmark year: the year that Gnarls Barkley became the first act to reach the UK Number One on downloads alone, it was also the year that the mobile phone really took off as a major music retailing channel. 20% of sales of Gnarls Barkley’s record breaking number one ‘Crazy’ were sold by a single mobile operator, 3, which now sells over 1 million music videos and audio tracks a month. It’s a trend that’s here to stay, track downloads to mobile phones are the fastest growing format in the UK, already double what they were in 2005. And the recent Number One, “I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” by Scissor Sisters sold almost 45,000 digital copies before its physical (CD) cousin was made available, according to Music Week magazine. Little wonder the Entertainment Retailers’ Association (ERA) have announced that the rules of the Top 40 must change so that each download counts the same as each physical sale for the duration of a track’s life. These new rules are likely to come into force on 1 January 2007. In good time: digital, whether online or via a mobile phone, has become the consumer’s retail channel of choice. How3CreatedTheMarket The rise of the mobile music store. When it comes to downloading, for millions of consumers the mobile phone is the preferred music device. The cliché was that mobiles were just about ringtones. 3G changed all that. Thanks to the extra bandwidth offered, by 3G it became possible for mobile operators to offer music videos and audio 4% tracks to customers over their networks. 12% 3 launched its video jukebox service in mid-2004, allowing customers to 10% choose from a selection of the latest music promos to keep them entertained while on the move. The service has boomed since launch and 3 has sold 41% an incredible 20 million music videos to date. An audio download service followed in 2005 which now sells over half a million tracks per month. In the UK, 3 has 3.75 million 3G subscribers many of them attracted by the unrivalled range of music services offered by the mobile operator. With 3 leading the way, mobiles have evolved from basic voice-based devices to become entertainment hubs: today they’re the music shop in your pocket, selling over 16% of music downloads and set to grow faster than ever. Right now, mobiles are revolutionising the way we consume music in a way that will make the iPod look like a warm-up act. Mobile music download market the ability to purchase music on the go, the fact that consumers can purchase on impulse, ease of payment via a mobile bill and a variety of features such as song-recognition services, ringback tunes and exclusives. The sheer size of the mobile market presents the industry with enormous opportunities. Today there are over 1.5 billion mobile phone subscribers worldwide – up 50% since 2002. Having been caught napping over the Nineties internet goldrush, the music industry is now primed for the mobile music explosion. Many UK record companies have restructured accordingly. EMI recently put digital at the core of its commercial operations by staffing up its digital division by 50% and appointing the group’s first digital senior VP. Both major labels and independents have set up digital-only record labels to promote and develop new acts. (Last November, for example, Warner Music launched its own elabel, Cordless Recordings.) 33% Ringtunes vs REALtunes But what of the tinny ringtune, previously considered the mainstay of mobile music? Again, the market has moved on. Since the beginning of 2006, sales of traditional ringtunes have halved as mobile phone users reject the poor sound quality in favour of more musical alternatives. The slump in ringtune sales has come at a time when sales of ‘realtunes’, the original music track itself used as a ringtune, have soared by over 300%. The shift to realtunes has been such that they now outsell traditional ringtunes by three to one. Mobile phone users have also been quick to take advantage of new technologies such as ‘dialtunes’ offered by 3. Dialtunes, which play a user’s favourite track to callers instead of the dial tone, have proved so popular amongst 3 customers wanting to customise their handsets that the market is now two and a half times larger than the market for ringtunes. The shift away from bleepy ringtunes to services such as realtunes and dialtunes is part of the wider trend towards mobile users buying real music to enjoy on their phones. 3 currently sells over one million audio tracks and music videos, and more than 300,000 realtunes and dialtunes per month – sales of real music on 3 are therefore more than twenty times larger than sales of ringtunes. It seems the annoying ringtune era is well and truly over. Music sales on 3 – September 2006 Other mobile operators 3’s music sales Over 75% of all mobile music sales in the UK come from 3. Why? Because 3 is allowing artists to reach a wider audience – and to win back a younger audience – by interacting with them in a new way. Working with names like Madonna, Lily Allen and James Blunt, 3 has provided fans with exclusive content, and delivers content before anyone else. 3 has proved that its customers are capable of generating huge sales momentum, enough to influence music sales across the UK. Less than a year on from the launch of its audio download service, 3 accounts for 1 in 10 of all the singles sold in the UK, and nearly 1 in 8 of all tracks sold digitally. That’s why, earlier this month, 3 launched 3MusicStore (www.three. co.uk/musicstore)– upgrading its existing music service to bring customers faster search capability, an enhanced catalogue and the ability to use either PC or mobile to download or manage their music collection. It’s a new type of music retailing: every 3 customer now has access to over 500,000 tracks, all available for delivery to both PC and mobile at one price 24 hours a day. (Little wonder 3 won ‘Best Music Service’ at the 2006 Music Week Awards.) Now mobile music is developing faster than online music services, boosted by the market penetration of phones (100% in many European countries), 4% 22% 74% Audio and video single sales Dialtunes and Realtunes Ringtunes Music Video. While 3 has recently been driving the audio mobile music market, it was quick to realise the potential for mobile music videos. In fact, of all music downloads on 3, almost 50% are music videos. The fact that 3 customers have downloaded over 20 million music videos rather flies in the face of one recent newspaper story claiming 3G customers are proving resistant to downloading because they consider it expensive. 3’s sales figures rather suggest the opposite. “Wewerethinkingitwouldbefun(todoavideo foreverysongonthealbum),becausethereare outletsforthiskindofstuffnow. ” – Nigel Godrich, Beck producer. Until recently, the pop video – one of the great mediums of the pop form – was in danger of falling by the wayside. There were fewer and fewer outlets for videos on terrestrial TV (MTV, for example, had largely thrown its lot in with reality TV), and little incentive for artists to flex their creative muscles in this area. That’s all changed. Now, artists are leading the way. Beck has shot a video for every one of the 15 tracks on his new album. Good Charlotte plan to film two sets of videos to coincide with their 2007 CD: one set for television, then a set of “underground” shorts for mobiles. And the Chicago rock band OK Go recently scored the biggest hit of their career, thanks to the goofy, treadmill-dancing viral smash “Here It Goes Again”. “Maybetwoyearsago,ifIhadabrandnewact, Iwouldn’tmakeavideostraightaway–Iknew MTVwasn’tgoingtoplayit.NowIwanttomake avideoonalmosteveryprojectoutofthegate.  ” – Lee Trink, General Manager, Virgin Records. In fact the video renaissance looks like it will force another change in the way the charts are compiled, as of January 2007 video downloads will almost certainly count towards the singles charts. In fact, as a tangible product, the music video may well come be seen as a replacement for the CD single. For the first time we’ve been able to consume pop videos in the way the format demands: as one-shot, 3-minute entertainment that captures the ‘pop’ moment. (Retrospective DVD/ VHS ‘Greatest Hits’ video compilations never had the same immediacy or impact.) Little wonder that this September, EMI chief executive Tony Wadsworth said it was “frustrating” that single video downloads didn’t already count towards the Top 40. Mobile music on 3 Howdo3customersconsumemusiconthemove?emove? 3 customers are buying loads of music on the move.Overfivemillionaudiotracksand 20millionmusicvideoshavebeendownloaded by 3 customers to date. Here’swho’sbuyingit,whenthey’rebuyingit and where they’re buying it: Who • Britain’s youth are driving the mobile music revolution – 29% of music track downloads on 3 are made by 18-24 year olds despite the fact that this group represents only 20% of 3’s customer base. This is great news for the market: it means it will continue to grow. Today’s niche youth market is tomorrow’s mainstream mass market. • Women are slightly ahead of men in using their mobiles to buy music: they are 7% more likely to make a video download compared with males and 4% more likely to make an audio download. • 3 customers are three times more likely to download music than the rest of the market and are downloading three times as often as they were in 2005 Favourite Genre by Region Music sales on 3 at a glance When • Downloading is spread evenly throughout the week, although Fridays and Saturdays are the most popular days to download for pay as you go customers, up 17% on the rest of the week • Downloading is most popular when the shops are closed, hitting a peak at 10pm • Over the week, 1/3rd of all downloads are done between 6pm and 11pm What 2006 top ten download chart Downloads by hour of the day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Hips Don’t Lie ft Wyclef Jean Buttons ft Snoop Dogg Deja Vu Unfaithful SexyBack ft Timberland Come To Me Promiscuous We Ride Ridin’ft Krayzie Bone Sexy Love Shakira The Pussycat Dolls Beyonce Rihanna Justin Timberlake P.Diddy Nelly Furtado Rihanna Chamillionaire Ne*Yo BMG Universal BMG Universal BMG Warner Universal Universal Universal Universal hour Where Purchasing music over mobile is currently most popular in London, however it is growing fastest in the Midlands and North East. On average 3 customers have downloaded over 3.5 music tracks in the last two months. Most popular genres differ considerably across the regions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2006 top ten download chart Crazy Hips Don’t Lie ft Wyclef Jean Unfaithful From Paris To Berlin Maneater Smile Sexy Love Pump it I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker SOS Gnarls Barkley Shakira Rihanna Infernal Nelly Furtado Lily Allen Ne*Yo Black Eyed Peas Sandi Thorn Rihanna Warner BMG Universal Universal Universal EMI Universal Universal BMG Universal Question:Whereismusicheadinginthenextfiveyears? Theviewfromtheconsumer. In order to find out more about where the market is heading over the next few years 3 commissioned in depth research into what 16-24 year olds thought about downloading music over mobile. A fully representative sample of 2,000 16-24 year olds were questioned between 25-27 September 2006. 3’s research was conducted by youth communications specialist agency, Dubit. Key findings were as follows I Want It Now Generation: music must be immediate • 76% of all respondents said that when they hear a track they like, they want to own it straight away • 80% said that the major benefit of buying music on mobile was you don’t have to wait to hear the music you wanted • 81% felt that it was quick and easy to download music on their phones • This was felt particularly by 3 customers, with nine out of ten customers agreeing downloading was quick and easy on 3, compared to other networks • 91% felt they should be able to listen to a song on any device they choose – a clear message to Apple A 24 hour music shop in my pocket • 60% under 24s (75% of 3 customers) have used a mobile to buy music • 72% said that downloading music on mobiles prompted them to listen to, and explore, music they wouldn’t normally listen to – great news for the industry • Those aged 16-21 felt strongly they’d rather pay for a track via their phone bill rather than use a credit card • Almost two thirds of under 24s purchase music while on public transport– in fact it seems that ‘downtime’ is becoming the new retail space for the music industry, taking over from the high street • 3 customers (68%) are more likely to buy music on their mobile than those on other networks (53%) • Impulse is a major trigger for buying music on mobile with over half of respondents buying tracks after they’ve heard them in a club or at a gig (35%) • Music downloads take the greatest share of spend on mobiles a month, (excluding voice calls and texts) especially amongst males Analysis: Even more than downloading to PCs, downloading to mobile has changed the music industry. Pop has always been an immediate format: about the thrill of the new. Now consumers no longer have to wait until they can get to the record shop, or even until they get home to their computers. The minute they want to get hold of a song, they can do so via their mobiles, beaming the song straight into their pockets. It’s a massive psychological step-up: one that will continue to revolutionise the music business, allowing artists and record companies to have a personal relationship with the consumer like never before. The age of instant gratification is upon us. The middleman – the record shop – has been cut out. What’s more, when 3 customers buy a song, they are able to access that song through both mobile and PC. Customers feel, quite rightly, that once they have paid for a song, they should be able to access it however they like. This will be the model for the future. Analysis: Online music stores opened up a world of possibilities, allowing customers to ‘try before they buy’ and sample a wealth of new music whilst sitting in their own homes. This has been nothing but good for the health of the music industry, creating variety and encouraging new music. In the future, the mobile industry will follow 3’s lead – it will become commonplace for consumers to buy music using a mobile bill, rather than a credit card. This will only encourage more browsing. Perhaps most importantly consumers’ downtime (on public transport etc) will become an increasingly vital commerce space for the record industry. CD to spin its last! • 6 out of 10 respondents felt the CD would go the way of the cassette, and soon become defunct • A similar number said that, in five years time, CD shops would be for over-30s only • Only 1 in 5 said they had bought vinyl in the last year • 1 in 5 said they would buy all their music via their mobile if they could The rebirth of video – a new golden age? • Over half (55%) feel a music video is the perfect length to watch on their mobile • 68% would prefer to download a video track than an audio track if they were the same price. This was especially true of 16-21-year-olds • Respondent quotes: “What makes 3 special is the videos. You can get MP3s everywhere now” “It’s brilliant when you get exclusives on 3. Music videos that aren’t available anywhere else” Analysis: Since its introduction in 1982, a constant criticism has been that the compact disc is an expensive format that, aesthetically, couldn’t match up to vinyl. In the future, we’ll look back on CDs as a temporary format, a stop-gap between vinyl and downloading. Unlike vinyl, customers’ loyalty to CDs is low. While it’s likely vinyl will survive as a marginal interest for specialist consumers, CDs simply cannot compete with downloading. In terms of reproduction, the quality of the music is the same, but the opportunities downloading affords the listener – access to billions of songs, ability to choose the tracks they like, ability to make playlists – do not compare. In 2006, CDs are on their last legs. Analysis: The mobile phone is the best thing to happen to music video since MTV. With video downloads soon to count in the singles chart, more and more artists will utilise the possibilities, knowing that a funny/sexy/ memorable video clip is at least as vital a marketing tool as a great song. Expect an influx of video directing talent to rival that of the mid-Nineties boom of Spike Jonze, Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry etc. The convenient way to save the planet! Pop: we’ve never had it so good • 16-18 year-olds strongly felt that music is better now than ever before • 82% say their mobile is the most important form of entertainment on the move • 3 customers (72%) are more likely than respondents on other networks (60%) to us their mobiles to keep them up to date with the latest music wherever they are • 85% said downloading would help save the planet by reducing packaging and waste associated with CDs. Less CD production equals less carbon emissions • Almost half the sample said they would be more likely to download music/music videos on their mobile if it helped the environment. • Ecological reasons were cited as downloading’s second biggest benefit, after the convenience of not having to travel to a music shop Analysis: Today’s pop consumers consume with a conscience. Where Analysis: Today we experience more music in more ways than ever before – witness, in recent years, the rise in popularity of festivals, the hundreds of internet radio stations that have sprung up, the amount of coverage music now gets newspapers etc – and never in the history of pop have so many people felt so passionately about their music. No surprise then that the mobile, already an extension of consumers’ personalities, now it’s been music-enabled, should become the default entertainment platform. Where the iPod showed how a music collection could be portable, the coming months and years will show that these basic MP3 players were just a rehearsal. The mobile phone provides not only a more personal entertainment experience, but a music shop in consumers’ pockets. there was loyalty to vinyl, thanks to an emotional investment in sleeve art, the tactile experience of taking the record out of the sleeve and placing it on a turntable etc, CDs have always been seen as disposable, plastic and ultimately wasteful. Now digital has made it plain that the CD was just the cheap housing for songs. Today’s increasingly environmentally-concerned consumers would rather do without all that wasteful, carbon emissionscentric packaging. Ultimately, the model of songs being delivered over the airwaves is how business will be done. While consumers continue to be proactive and reduce their carbon footprint in all areas of life, cutting out the mass production of millions of plastic CDs – in a digital world, packaging that is literally superfluous – is a no-brainer. Sowhatdoesthemusicindustrythink? “The phone will become as important, if not more so, than the iPod within a matter of months. More and more, people want to have everything delivered via, and available as, a one-stop shop that they can use on the go and with the minimum effort. I’d imagine that sending a new track to the phone will become as routine for labels as delivering singles to a shop once was,” – Paul Rees, Editor, Q, the UK’s biggest-selling music magazine. “Mobiles have already become extremely significant. The most amazing thing about the mobile/music interface that I’ve heard about is the phenomenon of budding urban music producers making new tunes on their laptops, and then sending them via Bluetooth to their wannabe MC mate, who then stands on that old street corner and freestyles. For someone who grew up with the laborious and expensive process of putting together a band, the idea that mobile technology allows you to create and perform in minutes without even being in the same town as your ‘bandmate’ is both mind-boggling and genuinely exciting.” – Garry Mulholland, author This Is Uncool: The 500 Greatest Singles Since Punk And Disco. “I’m in no doubt how important mobiles are gonna be for music from now on. If it’s a choice between kids getting on their bikes and going down to Woolies or just pressing a button on their phone it’s kinda obvious what they’re gonna choose. I spent a week with my 15-year-old cousin last month and she didn’t let go of her mobile the whole time I was there. ... They’re life support systems now!” – Rob Da Bank, Radio 1. “It’s about putting your personality on a piece of machinery. If you can take that personality in the machinery wherever you want to go, then you’re sorted” – Mika, rising star “For kids it’s all about the now and being first. The first to download the new Kooks’ video from 3 and show all their mates, for example. Mobiles now are almost at the stage of being music systems first, communications devices second. Kids can be seen up and down the country listening to music on their phones without earphones – like mini-ghettoblasters,” – Susie Ember, Head Of Press, Virgin Records. “The small screen is the great equaliser. Back in 1998, I envisaged one million artists on one million record labels splintered across the world. The soundtracks of people’s lives have been revolutionised by MP3 players. Integrating that with mobile phones is the next step,” – Chuck D, Public Enemy. “It’s very possible the CD will become obsolete in the age of download music. CDs are now just the format you get music on, they’re not objects you get attached to in the way people still do with vinyl. Vinyl records are beautiful objects – there’s no better forum to show off the artwork than a record sleeve. In comparison CDs just look like relics from the Eighties,” – Alex Needham, Deputy Editor, NME. “With the rise of legal online music stores and the success of mobile phones, it is inevitable the CD will disappear” Rihanna – Michael Nutley, Editor, New Media Age Magazine “What we’re seeing is the industry go through some pretty dramatic changes. Traditionally, we’ve measured industry success and health through physical sales. Those sales are declining. But, essentially, the industry is as healthy as it’s always been. (In the future) record companies will make money in other areas such as audio and video downloads to mobile phones. What everyone is struggling to do is keep pace with the changes. Four or five months ago, we were only beginning to hear about YouTube. Now it’s the biggest website in the world. It’s fascinating where it’s going to take us. It opens up huge possibilities” – Martin Talbot, Editor, Music Week. “When I started making videos in the 1980s, it was a big deal. I remember staying home because Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ was about to come on MTV. Now the future of pop videos is not about television. Who’s going to stay in to watch a video these days?” – Anton Corbijn, director/video-maker to U2, Depeche Mode and The Killers. “I’ve just been doing a project with young kids, a group of MCs and Roll Deep. And what I’ve found is that rather than writing their rhymes down, they’ll write them into their phones. And they’re downloading songs, Bluetoothing songs. The all-in-one model is the future. Everyone has a mobile on them at all times now: with a camera, and MP3 player and a voice recorder. It’s a real movement. I had one of the first iPods in the country, but I think that a lot of those companies have lost the plot. At the end of the day you just want to leave the house with one thing as opposed to scrabbling around for lots of different things. And iPods are expensive. With your phone you get upgraded for free. The phone companies are a bit more in touch with younger people than the computer companies. What people have realized with the MP3 players is that, you give someone a large sum of money and then three or four months later, the next model comes out and makes the whole thing redundant. I don’t feel that iPod supports the people who made it popular. For a lot of kids, they’re wising up to the fact that a lot of these companies are like banks. You deposit your money in them but they don’t actually give you anything back. But the mobile phone is a two-way thing. The mobile phone has become the FiloFax of our times. The all-in-one. You can shoot your movie on it. Post it up on YouTube from your phone. You can do emails. Why would anyone need an MP3 player? It’s middle-aged now.” – Charlie Dark, Blacktronica “The kids have always been one step ahead of the record companies. With downloading to phones, MySpace and other areas, the power has gone back into their hands. They can call the shots now. Any band can turn up to a record company and show they already have a massive digital fanbase through MySpace and get signed. The record companies don’t have to spend millions on promotion. It’s a great time to be making music,” – Sam Duckworth, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., recording artist MakingitonMobile. Planet Funk CASE STUDY 1: PLANET FUNK “STOP ME” Planet Funk’s “Stop Me” was the UK’s first mobile-only single. Using 3, the dance act bypassed the high street completely. A 3 microsite was created, building awareness of the tune six weeks upfront of release. The track was picked up by world-famous DJs including Pete Tong, James Zabiela and Nic Fanciulli. Support for “Stop Me’” came from Radio 1, Kiss and X-FM, plus more than 50 regional radio stations. MTV played the video over 150 times (indeed, it continues to be played to this day). The first week it went on sale, the single sold enough to enter the Top 40 at the equivalent of number 22, had mobile downloads on 3 been included. In the download chart is entered at 13. All this, via a microsite and the power of mobile consumers. That’s nothing like the sort of money or hype major record companies routinely throw at bands. And with rather better results. Chamillionaire CASE STUDY 2: CHAMILLIONAIRE “RIDIN’” A month before the CD release of Chamillionaire’s “Ridin’”, the video was made exclusively available to download via 3. It sold a staggering 5,800 in one day. In addition to going on to hold the top airplay and chart slots, it became the Number One most played video on MTV2, BET and AOL. “At Universal Island, we are keen to embrace innovative ways to deliver our artists’ music to the consumer,” says Neil Jennings, Head Of Mobile at Island Records. “We are excited about the growth of this market.” Conclusion. The digital format has undeniably become the consumers’ format of choice, changing both the way we shop and the Top 40 forever. Digital now accounts for almost 80% of all single sales. It’s made for a more immediate, thrilling music business; one driven by consumers, where the playing field has been levelled. Now a good song (Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy”) or a great video (OK Go’s “Here It Goes Again”) can pay dividends. By encouraging more people to explore more music, and rebooting the importance of video, digital is creating a healthier, more profitable and exciting British music scene. It also provides the green alternative to CDs. The writing’s on the wall that CDs will come to be seen as a temporary format: a stepping-stone to digital downloads. More and more digital music will be purchased and enjoyed on the move via the mobile phone. As 3 has shown, the mobile market is one being driven by young (18-24) consumers and it’s one that will continue to grow at an unprecedented rate. In a mobile market being led by 3, increasing numbers of consumers say they would purchase all their music via their mobile if they could. Right now, there are huge opportunities for artists and music business alike. Exciting times. Finally, not everyone is down with the mobile revolution… OK Go “HaveIeverdownloadedasongonaphone? I’veneverdownloadedasongperiod.Idon’tknow howto.Istillfaxpeople!(laughs)That’sterrible!” – Beyoncé. Thankfully for Beyoncé, her fans have been keeping up. To date 127,659 of them have downloaded her track ‘Deja Vu’ on 3. Beyoncé Johnny Davis Johnny edited The Face between 1999-2001, now a freelance writer for titles including The Sunday Times, GQ, The Telegraph Magazine. Also Music Editor at ELLE and Contributing Editor at Q. About 3 3 is a mobile media company delivering a convergence of communications, entertainment and information to customers on the move. For further information, please contact: Joss Hastings at 3 on 07782 324 816 joss.hastings@three.co.uk www.three.co.uk or Nic Rider/Mel Corbett at Lexis PR on 0207 908 6488 nrider@lexispr.com www.three.com/music