Strong Growth Forecasted of Subscription Based Audio

From DigitalMediaWire "Strong growth is forecasted for new subscription-based digital audio programming, as 20.1 million U.S. households are expected to subscribe to satellite radio in 2010, while 9.7 million will receive HD Radio and 12.3 million will download podcasts to their MP3 players, according to a report issued Tuesday by Massachusetts-based Forrester Research. Additionally, online radio streams offered by AOL, Yahoo, MSN and others are expected to reach 30% of all U.S. households, and 50% of broadband households by 2010."

"Forrester recommends that music and radio executives adopt subscription-based and on-demand distribution models with targeted advertising, while preparing for the advent of new technology like radio ad-skipping digital radio recorders. "If radio and music executives can successfully shift their thinking to embrace new audio delivery methods, both industries will benefit from new revenue streams and increased consumer loyalty over the next several years," said Forrester Research vice president Ted Schadler."

Read the full press release here.