Young people pay for music more than their parents

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Study shows that young Americans pay for music more than their parents

Youngster with headphones
(Image credit: Getty)

Young Americans pay for music more than their parents, according to a new study.

The research was carried out by John Blackledge and Tom Arcuri of financial services company the Cowen Group.

Business Insider report the study found that 46% of respondents in the US aged between 18-24 had bought music over the course of the past month, compared with 26% of the 45-54 age group. The findings also show that only 26% of the 65 and overs paid for material over the same time.

The findings appear to challenge the perception that young people tend not to pay for music.

Cowen have also found that while Spotify is leading the way when it comes to streaming services, it’s finding increasing challenges from Amazon, Apple, Pandora and YouTube. They say that revenue from on-demand music services is expected to double by 2021 and will rise from 18% of industry revenue this year to 40% by 2021.

In May, The Trichordist said a songwriter would need 288 million streams of their work to earn the average salary of a Spotify employee.

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Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.