Why buy an album? The motivations behind recorded music purchases.

Abstract

The present study examined why music fans choose to buy recorded music given the multitude of other ways to listen to music without payment. A sample of 135 participants (68.88% female) with a mean age of 29.05 years completed an open-ended questionnaire. These written responses were analyzed thematically. Two key themes were identified: Short-term comparisons and Long-term considerations. Motivations focused on value-maximization across both themes, with short-term comparisons including how many songs were liked on an album and the pros and cons of different formats. Price was by far the biggest factor. Long-term considerations were more sophisticated, with wider motivations including where money goes, and a consideration of recording artists' financial position. Some participants mentioned as a factor how long an album would be enjoyed, thus betraying the nature of music as an experience good. The desire to add to a music collection was an important consideration. The findings suggest that what might drive people toward music piracy is not the perceived costliness of music but rather a perception of poor value for money. Discussion focuses on how the recorded music industry can make legal purchases of recorded music more attractive than illegal counterparts.

Freedom of choice: Examining music listening as a function of favorite music format.

“…When choosing to pay for music, a comparison of different formats appears to take place (Brown & Knox, 2016). In the case of the present study, it is clear that digital files were evaluated in reference to other formats, and especially streaming—once more, control appears paramount.…”

“…It is logical that some of the uses and gratifications pertaining to the favored formats mirror those highlighted in previous work concerning musical media. For example, previous work has highlighted advantages such as storage utility for digital formats (Kinnally et al, 2008; Krause & North, 2016) and cost and value for money continue to play a role (Brown & Knox, 2016; Curien & Moreau, 2009; Sang et al, 2015). Further, ubiquity, variety, and discovery of new music continue to drive streaming platform use, as has been indicated previously (Hagen, 2016; Mäntymäki & Islam, 2015; Sang et al, 2015; Waldfogel, 2014).…”

A uses and gratifications approach to considering the music formats that people use most often

“…Furthermore, value for money, social norms, and usability and intention to use map onto Sang et al's (2015) dimensions of cost and availability, group norms, and intention to pirate. The desire for value for money (see Brown & Knox, 2016) suggests that participants are methodical in choosing between formats, not mere passive consumers; this highlights that participants choose not only which formats to use for music listening but also which music formats not to use. Different formats will be considered value for money by different people and for different reasons.…”

The social and applied psychology of engagement in music piracy

“…Related findings demonstrate other so-called utilitarian motives including convenience (Argan et al, 2013;Kinnally et al, 2008;Schwarz & Larssson, 2013;Wang & McClung, 2011). Such findings appear intuitive, but it may be that it is poor value for money which drives piracynot simply wanting content for free (Brown, 2016;Brown & Knox, 2016b).…”

“…Moreover, when considering how the uses and gratifications associated with music listening formats mapped onto piracy attitudes, value for money was positively associated with more favorable piracy attitudes. Value for money has been argued elsewhere as independent from simply wanting something for free (Brown & Knox, 2016b), and perceptions of value are likely to take into account a variety of utilitarian factors such as those mentioned above.…”