Madison, WI – July 17, 2003 – A recent online survey conducted by Musicnotes, Inc. indicates that the digital delivery of sheet music holds the potential to dramatically expand the sheet music market.
Two weeks ago, as part of the company’s weekly newsletter and through a link on the Musicnotes.com web site, customers and readers were asked to fill out a nine-question survey. Respondents were also encouraged to provide feedback to help Musicnotes improve the consumer shopping experience. The survey request generated almost 1,000 responses.
“The survey reinforces our belief that digital delivery of sheet music expands the entire market,” stated Bill Aicher, Musicnotes’ head of Marketing. “When we asked people to complete the sentence ‘Because of digital sheet music, I find myself buying…’ 60% chose the response ‘more sheet music than I otherwise would,’ while 32% chose ‘about the same.’”
“When we then asked people what impact digital purchases would have on their purchases of traditional printed songbooks we were really surprised,” Aicher commented. “We asked people to complete the sentence ‘My purchases of digital sheet music cause me to buy…’ and only 32% said ‘fewer traditional music books than before,’ while 9% actually said ‘more traditional music books.’
After reviewing the survey, John Stevenson, Associate Director for the University of Wisconsin Survey Center, said, “These consumers are clearly saying that online purchasing makes them more likely to buy additional music. Customers who buy music on-line are also saying they would like to find all the music they want at one location.”
“The survey suggests that digital delivery does not cannibalize the traditional music book market to any great extent, which is a fear of some of the publishers,” stated Kathleen Marsh, Musicnotes’ CEO. “Some consumers just prefer the songbook to a digital download, or even want both, which is great. This feedback matches our experience, as we mail order a significant number of songbooks to consumers – even for titles available in the digital sheet music format. The survey responses strongly support the argument that digital delivery should dramatically expand the overall sheet music market.”
“When we asked consumers whether they would prefer shopping off of one web-site or visit different sites for the music they want, almost everyone stated a preference for one-stop shopping,” said Tim Reiland, Musicnotes’ Chairman and CFO. “This response did not surprise us in the least; broad product availability on individual websites is now happening in the audio download arena, and it needs to happen with digital sheet music,”
Marsh added, “We are happy to share our survey results with our publishing and distribution partners, as we believe there is much to discover as we try to satisfy the demands of on-line music buyers. An expanding market is the best situation for everyone involved, including consumers who are obviously finding value in the additional products they buy.”
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About Musicnotes: Musicnotes, Inc. has an impressive catalog of over 16,000 digital sheet music titles that has been built on the strength of content agreements with Warner Bros. Publications (which encompasses the Universal Music catalogue), BMG, Peermusic, Famous Music, Zomba Music, and several other music publishers. They also carry a complete catalog of over 260,000 mail-order items in their online catalog. The Musicnotes’ multi-genre digital offering includes everything from Elton John and Vanessa Carlton to George Gershwin and Beethoven.
Media Contacts:
Kathleen Marsh, CEO
kmarsh@musicnotes.com or 608-662-1680 ext. 272
Tim Reiland, Chairman and CFO
treiland@musicnotes.com or 414-745-4232
Bill Aicher, Creative Director
aicher@musicnotes.com or 608-662-1680 ext. 277
*Complete survey results available upon request.
