MTV Networks Asia undertook a survey to find out how passionate young Asians are about music and the music related activities in which they are engaged. Findings show that young people in India, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines have the highest passion for music. And as music passion continues to grow, music is being consumed by nearly everyone across TV, computer and mobile screens. Commissioned by MTV Networks Asia and partnered with TNS, the fieldwork was completed first quarter 2008, encompassing 5,741 online interviews with urban individuals aged between 15-34 in 12 markets in Asia Pacific including China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia. Ian Stewart, senior vice president of Viacom Brand Solutions & Research, MTV Networks Asia, said, “We continue to see the dominance of Asian music across the region, with over 80% of preference being for artists in local language. A handful of global celebrities make the top list of favored singers, though very few regional artists that cross many borders. The Asia Loving Asia trend remains, with a very local spin this year.” The study also found that mobile phones are commonly used for listening to music. One in four young Asians paid to download digital music recently, while twice as many added to their music library without paying. “The mobile phone as a preferred music device grows in popularity. While only a minority of Asian youth currently uses their phone as their main player, the vast majority see this as the future – one gadget in the pocket,” said Stewart. The survey’s main findings were as follows: Music Passion • South and Southeast Asian love music, led by India, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Hong Kong youths are the least passionate about music. • Australians have the largest music collection on CDs and DVDs, followed by Vietnam and Malaysia. • While Passion for International artists has shot up, there is growing interest in music from within Asia and Korea in particular. The “Asia Loving Asia” trend marches on. Music and Multiplatform • 66 percent are listening to more music now that it’s digital and 46 percent think that all their music will be digital in the future. • Most popular type of content downloads are songs and ringtones. 50 percent have downloaded a song to their phone recently. • The phone is becoming much more multi-media, with a much larger group of teens using their mobile to play games and watch music videos. 74 percent want to replace their MP3 or iPod with a music phone. • New findings also confirm that the power of social networking, instant messaging are virtual friends are a massive youth driver: Vietnam and China are leading the charge in terms of this “Forwarding Culture”. • More Youth in Greater China are writing and uploading content to their own blog, with 69 percent led by China and Thailand, 62 percent by Taiwan and 60 percent followed by Hong Kong. Music Consumption • Korea shows a huge appetite for music consumption. Vietnam has emerged as having a very music-centric group of youth with high music passion and strong consumption. • Downloading and paying for music is not what youth want. 73 percent said the music industry should work closely with telecommunications companies to help them get music on their phone. • 55 percent have downloaded music without paying. Countries like China, Philippines and Thailand have not complied with the pressure to reduce the piracy. • Digital is the future but there is still a market for CDs: looking forward, close to half believes all of their music will be in digital format, but more than a third will play both CD and digital format. The trend towards digital music is getting stronger. Commented Stewart, “Through validated music trends and consumer insights, it has helped us grow our relationship with our viewers as well as develop strategic relationship with our clients and partners. As such, we continue to be the one media owner in Asia Pacific that understands our audience the best!” Jasper Donat, co-founder and executive director, Branded Ltd. added, “We are very pleased to continue supporting MTV’s research in conjunction with our Music Matters conference. To gain a solid view of music across Asia sets the opening tone for the event. It also allows delegates to streamline their business models in the Asia Pacific region to the market, maintaining their relevance and currency to the ever changing industry. And as in previous surveys we are happy to see that music does indeed matter to Asia youth.”