We may not be flocking to local record stores like we did in 1999, but we're still listening to music, Globe readers say.
Last week, we ran a report about global recorded music sales growing last year for the first time since 1999, as music buyers increasingly turn to subscription services and digital downloads. We asked readers to take a survey about how their own music-buying habits have changed over the years, and more than 400 people responded.
While 46 per cent of those respondents said they're buying less music now than in 1999, 22 per cent said they were buying about the same and 33 per cent said they were buying more. (Survey numbers are rounded.)
With illegal sites offering free downloads online, we were curious whether people still pay for the music they listen to, and many do, but 21 per cent said they never pay to download music, and 59 per cent admitted they had downloaded free music from illegal sources.
About a third of respondents were using paid music-subscription services to some degree, but two-thirds said they never used them.