Statistics Reveal How we View Digital Content

In August of 2007 ABI Research released a new study showing that while a large proportion of digital content is consumed by a small but influential group of digital media super-users, the mainstream user is increasingly looking for new ways to access and manage content.

Consumers are fast becoming more comfortable with new digital media experiences as well as the Internet. The report outlines nicknames for the market from “Digital Laggards,” to “Mainstream Users” along with “Digital Enthusiasts” and “Digital Super-Users.” It shows how all will evolve over time and the impact they will have on digital media consumption.

One of the outcomes of this new research trend is the on demand production engine technology, and how companies are seeing its value. Acutrack is already meeting the needs of a variety of clients ranging from recording artists to hypnotherapists, to film and photo content creators.

On demand also creates physical CD/DVD downloadable content, offering a new revenue stream or an opportunity to customize content or artwork. Acutrack’s self service site (http://ondemand.acutrack.com/) enables customers to create and manage everything online as well as place new or reorder in seconds. With no minimums or up-front costs, customers get the best retail quality for short run discs.

As one example, Acutrack’s record label customer, ASR Records Chairman and Co-founder Alaadeen said, “My goal for starting ‘ASR Records was to provide a label to host my CDs and bring them in front of the public. But I soon ran into problems. In order to get a good rate to manufacture the CDs, I had to manufacture large quantities. This led to excessive inventory, and there was the distribution issue. Then came Acutrack with an appealing feature for artists and one determining factor in their signing with the label.”

On Demand Production allows manufacturing of CDs and DVDs on an as needed basis, eliminating the up-front costs of producing multiple titles normally associated with CD/DVD production. Acutrack’s On Demand engine manufactures CD/DVD products upon purchase with zero inventory, which enables customers to focus their efforts on marketing products, rather than producing and storing them.

The ABI study, “Consumer Media: The Changing Ways in Which Consumers Buy, Consume and Manage Digital Content,” explores how consumer use of traditional media is being increasingly balanced with usage of media through new consumption and distribution methods.