Updated 2002 - 2003 Comparative Survey: The Internet Helps Icelandic Musicians To Thrive In The Global Music Industry Slump
9. October, 2003
- Download the survey (pdf skjal á ensku - 650 KB)
- Coverage of Mi2n.com*
- Coverage by Boycott-RIAA.com*
- Coverage by P2Pnet.net *
Icelandic musicians are thriving despite the global slump in the music industry. They successfully use the Internet to market themselves internationally and build loyalty with their fan. They have improved PR and material and services for fans on their web sites but are not as of yet significantly using the Internet to facilitate viral marketing. However, a vast majority of web sites of Icelandic musicians carry MP3 files.
Executive summary
Factors affecting the music industry in Iceland include the following:
- Consumers have created a new value curve for the music industry
- Online file sharing and downloading where copyright holders are bypassed has put the traditional business model of the music industry in doubt
- Competition for consumers time, attention and money is increasing
- A vibrant world class music scene has enabled some Icelandic bands to benefit from online marketing (which may entirely take place among their fans)
- Packing music CDs with extra features may not be enough to stem the decline of CD sales
New entrants, easy to use online music stores which offer flexible pricing structure and quality downloads that can be played on a variety of devices, are in an excellent position to exploit the turmoil and eventually redefine the way music is marketed, purchased and enjoyed. This is a threat to the established music retailers and labels.
Key findings from the survey of twenty-five web sites of Icelandic musicians and comparison with a 2002 survey
Download the 2002 paper (pdf document- 257KB)
- The potential for viral and peer to peer marketing is left unexplored on the sites.
- Half of the sites studied had a link to an online store where CDs and in some cases other merchandise could be bought online
- Six sites achieved an average score of above 45% (compared to five in 2002)
- The top ranking site had an average score of 61% (compared to 52% in 2002)
- There are significantly more features for fans and the media now than in 2002
* Please note that there this is no affiliation with the external sites linking to this survey.