More Get Their Music Fix On Social Networks

SOCIAL NETWORKING (Hypebot) –
Highlights of a new NPD Group study:

Underscoring the increasing importance of sites like MySpace for music discovery, 19% of those surveyed said they listen to music through social networking sites, up 4% from a year ago

Almost half of US teens listen to music on social networks up from 37% in 2007. Among college-age fans the percentage rose to 41% from 30% the previous year.

The number of U.S. consumers buying CDs fell by 17M in 2008.

The decline in CD purchases was most prevalent among teens and consumers 50 and over.

The number of people purchasing digital music increased by more than 8 million in 2008 to 36 million.

Digital music download purchases increased 29% in 2008 over '07 and now account for 33% of all tracks purchased in the US.

Many consumers said they were spending less on entertainment as a result of the recession.

Many said they were turning to digital downloads as a way to buy individual tracks, rather than having to purchase an entire album.

All of these trends are evidence of the continued transformation of the music industry.