NEW YORK – Nearly two-thirds of Internet users, 65% to be exact, have paid to access content online – from movies and TV shows to games, music and newspaper articles.
That is the result of a survey by the Pew Research Center at a time when media and entertainment companies continue to look for ways to make money off online offers.
The study found that 33% of Web users have paid for digital music, 21% have paid for apps for cell phones or tablet computers, 19% for digital games and 18% for newspaper or magazine articles, but only 16% have paid for videos, movies or TV shows.
Pew also found that 11% have paid for members-only premium content from a site that also has free material.
In a sign of the popularity of virtual goods, 5% have also paid for tools or materials to use in video or computer games.
The typical user who reported a figure spent on Web content spent $10 per month, the Pew report found.
Not surprisingly, it said higher-income households were more likely to pay than those who live in lower-income brackets.
The majority of users said they paid for subscription services (23%), followed by individual file downloads (16%) and streaming content (8%).
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project survey’s margin of error on the sample of Web users is +/- 3.9 percentage points.
“What was really surprising was that the percentage of Internet users purchasing online content is nearly the same as those purchasing other products and services, such as books and travel,” said Jim Jansen, the author of the report.
