03.06.09 - Survey shows public willing to pay for music
Music is extremely important for the Swiss. Accordingly, musicians and their work are highly valued. 91% of the population believe that composers and music authors should be paid for the use of their works. Creators should also be paid for private copying of their works on CDs or MP3 players.
Zurich, 19 May 2009 – According to a representative survey, 70% of the Swiss population considers music, literature, the cinema, art, dance and theatre to be very important. Music is the most frequently mentioned art form (37%), with over 40% of those surveyed qualifying music as “essential” or “a passion”. On average, the Swiss listen to music 3.2 hours per day. These are the findings of a representative survey conducted by gfs-Zurich in the Germanand French-speaking parts of Switzerland. In addition to the public’s views on music, the survey also investigated consumption behaviour and the public’s attitude towards authors’ rights.
Creators should be paid for private copying
91% of those surveyed believe that composers and music authors should be paid for the broadcasting and performance of their works (74% without restriction, 17% agree in part), while 77% believe that music creators should also be paid for the copying of their works (20% agree in part).
This average increases with age and level of education. For persons with higher education, the average is 95% (payment in general) and 88% (payment for copying) respectively.
In addition to education, age is an important factor. In the under-35 age group, nearly 30% are rather critical or critical of a copying levy. There are also significant regional differences: In the French-speaking part of the country, 84% of those surveyed support a copying fee (of which 43% “of course”) compared with 75% (24% “of course”) in the German-speaking part of the country. The Swiss population therefore comes out overwhelmingly in favour of copying fees for music creators (Private copying of protected music is allowed in Switzerland. However, right-holders are entitled by law to fair remuneration in exchange. SUISA collects that remuneration in the form of a lump-sum levy on blank storage media - CDs, DVDs, memory devices in music players - and passes it on to the right-holders.).
Music consumption: from radio to cell phone?
Radio is still number one in terms of music consumption: 72% of those surveyed say they listen to the radio every day, and about 50% listen to music on their hi-fis. Internet and MP3 players are also widespread: about 40% of the population listens to music on such devices – 60% for the younger generation (the 16 to 35 age group). The cell phone is rapidly becoming a mobile all-purpose device. One-fifth of the population is already using cell phones to play back music; for the under 35s, the figure attains 37%.
Buying behaviour: Internet use a question of age
Only a quarter of the population acquires music on the internet; for the under 35s, the number is already at 43%. And this is the very group that prefers to download music for free from file-sharing sites rather than buy it from online shops. About one-fifth of those in this group admit that they download at least 15 songs per month for free from file-sharing sites. Those over 35 generally pay for their music online: the 35 to 50 age group say they buy three times as many songs in online shops as they download for free. One person out of ten in the over 50 age group buys music on the web.
Many never copy, young people do it regularly
As in the case of the internet, copying behaviour varies significantly from one age group to the other. 67% of those surveyed do not copy music CDs or DVDs at all, be it on CDs, DVDs, computers or MP3 players. 10% of the under-50s copy music compared with over 50% of the under 35s.
SUISA is important for the Swiss music scene
Over half of those surveyed know that there is an organisation in Switzerland which safeguards the rights of composers, authors and publishers of music. 40% recognise the name SUISA. However, only one quarter is aware that SUISA is a not-for-profit organisation. Those who know what SUISA does see it as playing a vital role: over 70% consider SUISA’s work to be important for the Swiss music scene.
