Online music and video sales soaring

Spending on music and video online is in a healthy state in the UK as consumers start to embrace the idea of paying for their e-media.

The average Brit now spends £3 per month on online audio and visual content, equating to £36 per year. Video content is closing the gap on audio, accounting for 43 per cent of spending.

The biggest spenders are unsurprisingly the 18 to 24 age group, which spends an average of £5.34 per month on online content. Men shell out around 40 per cent more than women per month, according to stats from Nielsen/NetRatings.

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Alex Burmaster, European internet analyst for Nielsen/NetRatings said these figures represent an encouraging shift in the willingness of consumers to pay for online content.

Regarding music downloads, Burmaster added that although it took a while for consumers to come round to the idea of paying for audio content online, in a relatively short space of time "they're already digging into their pockets".