Norway Runs Past Sweden in Music Streaming

Norway Runs Past Sweden in Music Streaming

OSLO, Norway, January 23, 2012/PRNewswire/ --

Music streaming services are gaining ground fast in the Scandinavian countries and
revenue to the music industry is increasing. A market survey conducted by Norstat for
music service WiMP in January 2012, shows that the proportion of Norwegians who have
access to a music streaming service has increased from 37 to 56 percent in the last six
months. For the first time, Norway has surpassed Sweden in this statistic - in Sweden
during the same period the corresponding figure increased from 48 to 54 percent.

3 out of 10 in the survey said, both in Sweden and Norway, that they listened to music
via streaming during the previous week. In Norway, this proportion increased from 20 to 29
percent from June last year to now. The Swedes increased correspondingly from 27 to 29
percent, and thus the two countries stand equal. Danish music listeners are somewhat
behind on the streaming front, but there too, the proportion who listened to music via
streaming during the previous week increased from 14 to 20 percent.

"Our agreement with Canal Digital, which provides one in three Norwegian households
with the opportunity to get WiMP included in the television subscription is obviously
important for this development," says general manager of WiMP in Norway, Per Einar Dybvik.

Scandinavians get rid of their CD-collection
The survey also shows that more and more music lovers in the Scandinavian countries now
get rid of their CD-collection. The proportion who say they have cleared away, given away,
sold or thrown away the CD's is increasing steadily and is now at 28 percent overall in
Norway and Sweden. According to the survey, the use of music streaming is inversely
proportional to age, the younger you are, the greater the use. While 59 percent of
Norwegians under 30 years of age listened to music via streaming last week, the
corresponding figures for those over 50 was 13 percent. Similarly, the figures show that
almost half of the population up to 40 years, got rid of their CD-collection, while 9 in
10 over 50 years still have it on display.

Young Scandinavians willing to pay for music
Norstat figures also show that the majority of Scandinavians under 30 wants to pay for
their music. Swedish youth are the most positive, with 54 percent saying yes to paying,
while also an additional 1 in 4 say it depends on the service. Only 14 percent of young
Swedens say "No" to the question of willingness to pay for a music streaming service. The
age group under 30, who is also the group who's started using streaming services the most,
are also the most willing to pay.

"We are especially pleased that young people are willing to pay for a music streaming
service. Basically, we think that it is about offering a service that works everywhere and
gives the user a richer music experience. At WiMP, we aim to give our users more than just
access to local and international music wherever they are. We will also help them broaden
their musical horizons, rediscover old favorites and get closer to their favorite
artists," says Thor Martin Jensen, Global Editorial Manager for WiMP.

Approximately half of the youngsters surveyed said they think the experience of
listening to music has been improved after they started using a music streaming service.

Illegal downloading decreases
Across all three Scandinavian countries, the survey also shows that over half the people
who previously downloaded music illegally, no longer do so after they have been given
access to a streaming service. The amount is even higher in the age group below 30.

"We have always believed that the best way to prevent illegal downloading is through
providing legal services that are easier to use. The decline in illegal downloading, must
largely be attributed to the tremendous growth we've seen in music streaming", says Per
Einar Dybvik.

The future of streaming
8 in 10 young Norwegian and Swedes, and 7 in 10 young Danes believe that streaming will be
the dominant way to consume music within 2-4 years, all increasing from the last survey in
June 2011. Future belief in streaming increases in almost all age groups. Streaming is the
number one choice in all three countries, significantly ahead of downloading and CD's.

The survey also shows that those who use music streaming services also spend a little
bit more money on concerts. While 68 percent of Norwegians who use streaming services pay
for concert tickets in a month, 59 percent of non-streamers say the same. In the three
countries, Norway has the largest amount of people who spend money on concerts, closely
followed by Danes and the Swedes slightly behind.

The survey was conducted in January 2012 by Norstat on behalf of music service WiMP.
Via an online survey, a representative selection of one thousand respondents over 18 years
old in Norway, Sweden and Denmark respectively were asked, equaling a total of 3,000
respondents.

WiMP is available in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Portugal, the latter via a different
brand from the operator Portugal Telecom. WiMP is also planning launches in countries
including Germany, Ireland and Benelux. For a little more than than a half ago, WiMP was
included in the television subscription to one in three Norwegian households through an
agreement with Canal Digital. Canal Digital is now launching WiMP on TV for their
Norwegian satellite customers.

About Aspiro

Aspiro has unique positioning as the world's only provider of complete TV and music
streaming services for partners that want to put their own branding on the service. Aspiro
also provides the music streaming service WiMP directly to consumers on selected markets.
Aspiro has over ten years' experience in mobile technology and retail in northern Europe,
and delivers services to partners worldwide like Deutsche Telekom, Telenor, 3,
TeliaSonera, the BBC, Entel and Canal Digital. Aspiro is listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic
Exchange Stockholm.

For questions or more information, please contact: Kristin Castillo Eldnes, Head of
Corporate Communication and IR at Aspiro / WiMP. Phone: +47-90-80-73-89,
kristin.eldnes@aspiro.com.

Source: Aspiro Music

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