Research released by children’s online learning company Intuitive Media and the digital media magazine New Media Age suggests that illegal Bluetooth sharing of music is reaching epidemic proportions.
In a survey of nearly 1500 8-13 year olds nearly a third (29%) admitted to sharing music illegally on their phones via Bluetooth with nearly half (45%) of the remaining respondents stating that they’d like to share music in this way.
The research gives a unique new insight into the increasingly important kids mobile market. With 72% of 6-13 year olds now owning their own phone and 26% spending at least £1 or more on content a week, mobile content providers, network operators and media companies can no longer afford to ignore mobile for this demographic.
Robert Hart, co-founder of Intuitive Media, said: “Music sharing on the Internet was identified by the industry as one of the biggest threats they’ve faced in recent years and this research shows that mobile has got the potential to exacerbate those problems. The children are not aware they are doing anything illegal.
“Technologies like Bluetooth have been around for a while but it’s only now when the handsets are becoming powerful music devices that this problem has really arisen.”
The research gives a unique new insight into the increasingly important kids mobile market. With 72% of 6-13 year olds now owning their own phone and 26% spending at least £1 or more on content a week, mobile content providers, network operators and media companies can no longer afford to ignore mobile for this demographic.
Robert Hart, co-founder of Intuitive Media, said: “Music sharing on the Internet was identified by the industry as one of the biggest threats they’ve faced in recent years and this research shows that mobile has got the potential to exacerbate those problems. The children are not aware they are doing anything illegal.
“Technologies like Bluetooth have been around for a while but it’s only now when the handsets are becoming powerful music devices that this problem has really arisen.”