Issue 2, vol. 2 - February 2006

Downloading has caused many marketers to reconsider the ways they have been offering and selling their products, what with being able to download everything from books to pictures to TV shows, and even mobile episodes (“mobisodes”) of favourite shows onto cell phones and iPods it seems soon we’ll be downloading our dinners.

In 2003 we polled youth about their downloading habits and found that 10% of young people aged 14-19 years of age claimed not to download at all. When polled again in 2005 the number remained virtually unchanged. This is somewhat surprising given all the advancements in downloadable content and the increase in households with high speed Internet access. In 2003, 72% of youth we polled had high speed Internet and in just two years penetration climbed to 83% of households with teens having a high speed connection.

While the percentage of youth downloading hasn’t changed, the frequency and variety of things they are downloading has increased. The 18- to 29-year-old male is still the early adopter of new technology but we are seeing females and tweens actively downloading more than just music. And, as youth lead busier and busier lives, applications like BitTorrent become very convenient as users can download larger files like music albums, full-length movies, games and entire TV seasons in one go. The current ABC-hit The Office is actually a remake of a small, but very popular, BBC comedy that penetrated North American youth culture almost two years ago thanks to BitTorrent.

Below is a chart showing the percentage of youth downloading various items off the Internet.



From our sources, in 2003, MP3s were the most prevalent reason for downloading. These songs were downloaded primarily to computers, as only 15% of the youth we polled in 2003 had portable MP3 players. In just two years the percentage of teens with MP3s has grown to 50% (thanks iPod) and 72% of teens download 1-20 songs/week. Another interesting way to measure the impact of downloading is to look at how it has affected industry music ratings. Recently, seven songs from Disney’s High School Musical made it into the Billboard Top 50, not because it was a top-selling CD, but due to the high volume of tweens buying single MP3s online.

The TV or stereo is no longer the only medium for home entertainment. As young people flock to the net to access a few of their favourite things, it’s creating more opportunities for advertisers and marketers to go beyond the basic banner ad. With mainstream youth downloading a variety of media and eager to try something new, marketers can develop more elaborate online strategies to capture the attention of this young audience.

Polaris – The new shinning star of Canadian Music

Is Canada ready to embrace music in its purest form? We here at Youthography certainly believe so, and so do close to a dozen other music industry experts and insiders. It is clearly about time that we celebrate music based on all its artistic merit (not just radio play or units sold). The year 2006 is expected to see the launch of the Polaris Prize - an unprecedented national critic’s award (voted on by respected journalists and writers) that will elevate the public’s consideration of the full-length album as an art form. The annual Polaris Prize will provide an opportunity to pay homage each year to Canadian albums of the highest artistic quality without regard to musical genre, label affiliation or sales levels.

Many countries, including the UK, have had a long standing history of recognizing musical talent not purely based on sales levels. The UK’s Mercury Prize has provided a launching pad for numerous UK based artists both nationally as well as internationally. Now sponsored by Nationwide, the Mercury Prize has been a stepping stone for some great acts including 2005 nominees Hard-Fi, KT Tunstall, Bloc Party and winners Antony and the Johnsons.

With Canadian talent exploding on the world stage, we feel that the Polaris Prize provides a fantastic way to recognize these artists both at home and hopefully abroad. Recently, George Strombouloplis, the host of CBC’s The Hour relayed these sentiments…

"It is time for this country of ours, Canada, to have an award strictly for musical excellence. Like in Britain, there is this amazing award called The Mercury Prize. It goes to bands and artists with a distinctive artistic vision. If Canada isn't built for an award like this, then who is? Canada needs our Mercury prize right here."

George, we couldn’t agree with you more!