數位音樂下載商機研究

Abstract

The digital music downloading business has been expanding drastically. The number of people purchasing music downloads are on the rise. At the same time, portable music devices such as digital audio players and mobile music phones are also in high demands. Consumers are changing the way they obtain and listen to music. This research examines the impacts of digital music on the US music industry. The digital music downloading business environment is analyzed to reveal the major competitors in offering digital music downloading services and portable digital audio players in the US. Flaws in the digital rights management technology are discussed to point out the vulnerabilities of the business. Furthermore, the music industry’s methods in fighting against online music piracy are evaluated to see if they are effectively slowing down illegal music file sharing and promoting legitimate music downloading. Clearly, the music industry is still adjusting to the digital music era. The industry remains flexible and open-minded to new ideas with regards to selling digital music. The future outlook of the digital music downloading business is apparently heading into two directions. First, the music industry will experiment with the release of DRM-free music. This has the potential to change the competitive environments for companies in the digital music downloading business as the interoperability between music downloading services and portable music players is opened up. Next, digital music is penetrating into the mobile phone market. Mobile music phones are considered to be the next big thing in the digital music era. The popularity of digital music will continue to be in high demands as the mobile music market grows. All in all, the future of the digital music downloading business remains bright.