Nearly 40% of the Japanese online population visited an entertainment music site in August 2008, and Japan had the highest penetration of users of Apple iTunes software for the month when compared with other countries, according to a study of music-related sites in Japan by comScore.
Yahoo Music Most Visited
August data show that online Japanese averaged 16 minutes per visit and nearly 5 visits per visitor during the month. Yahoo Music led the category with 7.3 million visitors, followed by Sony Connect with nearly 3 million visitors and Sony BMG Music Entertainment with 2.7 million visitors.
Download Sites Show Intense Use
Among music download sites in Japan, Mora.jp had the largest audience, with 1.39 million visitors. It was closely followed by Morawin.jp with 1.38 million visitors.
Although Napster – which operates on a fixed monthly fee – reported a lower number of visitors compared with the other sites (171,000 visitors in August), the site reported the highest engagement (93 minutes per visitor) and highest frequency of visitation among users (4.4 average visits per visitor). Indie music site Muzie.co.jp also reported high engagement among its user base, with an average of 21 minutes per visit and 4.1 visits per visitor.
Highest Worldwide Penetration of iTunes
Apple iTunes, software, which interfaces with the Apple iPod and iPhone and provides digital music downloads, is also popular in Japan. In August, there were 13.6 million iTunes software users there, representing nearly one quarter of the Japanese internet audience. Among the five countries included in the study, Japan had the highest penetration of iTunes software users and more than double the worldwide reach of 11.2%.
“The Internet and other digital media have become key platforms for music consumption and clearly represent the future of the music industry,” said Maru Sato, managing director of comScore Japan. “With so much consumer music activity occurring in the digital space today, it is increasingly important to capture the available audience now and get them engaged with your service.”
The study compared Japanese usage and behavior statistics for music-related sites with the US, UK, France and Germany.
