Exploring the Acquisition and Consumption Behaviour of Modern Recorded Music Consumers: Findings from a Finnish Interview Study

Abstract: During recent years, our ways of acquiring and consuming recorded music have changed drastically. This paper provides an exploration of the acquisition and consumption behaviour of modern recorded music consumers by examining (1) how modern consumers acquire and consume recorded music, and (2) what kind of perceptions of relative advantages and disadvantages drive their usage of different acquisition channels. The paper approaches the topic from a holistic and interpretive perspective and is based on a semi-structured interview study of 14 young Finnish consumers of recorded music. The findings of the study show significant divergence in the acquisition and consumption behaviour between different consumers. They also suggest that the acquisition channel choices in the context of recorded music consumption are driven by very divergent perceptions of the relative advantages and disadvantages associated with the channels. These perceptions vary vastly from both one channel and one consumer to another. The implications of these findings for the business models of digital music stores and services are discussed in the concluding section of the paper