Free Music Downloads Don't Deter Music Purchases; Music Lovers Find Better Selection and Better Prices Through BizRate.com

Business Wire, August 23, 2000

Business/Entertainment Editors & E-Commerce/Music Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 23, 2000

According to BizRate.com (www.bizrate.com), the Web's best shopping marketplace, online sales of music thrive despite the widespread popularity of free MP3 music files accessible through Web sites like Napster.

BizRate.com surveyed more than 16,000 online buyers to see how the Internet has affected their music-buying habits; following is what the company discovered:

-- Do free music downloads affect CD purchases? Nearly all (97%)

of online buyers said that free music downloads either did not

affect or increased their CD purchases. In contrast, only 3%

of online buyers said that free music downloads has decreased

their purchase of CDs.

-- How many online shoppers are downloading free music from the

Internet? More than one-third of online buyers reported

downloading free music from the Internet.

-- Who's downloading free music? More men than women download

free music from the Internet -- 43% of men compared to 26% of

women.

Entertainment, including CDs, is one of the fastest-growing categories in terms of online sales, generating $1.35 billion -- accounting for 17% of all online retail sales -- in the first quarter of 2000 alone.

From cassette tapes and compact discs to music videos and memorabilia, BizRate.com brings together some of the Internet's most popular music stores under a single URL, allowing consumers to comparison shop "at a glance." And BizRate.com's unique online ratings guide lets consumers evaluate merchants on qualities that are important to online shoppers, including product price, special offers like free shipping or discounts, on-time delivery, and more.

About BizRate.com

As the only company able to survey actual online buyers at the e-point-of-purchase, BizRate.com tracks the growth of e-commerce and provides captivating data on a real-time basis. BizRate.com is also the Web's best shopping marketplace, linking more than 1,000 customer-rated e-tailers to more than 5 million shoppers each month, making BizRate.com the first stop for your readers' shopping needs.

BizRate.com Experts are Available to Add Commentary to Your Articles

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