According to a survey conducted by market research firm NPD, Mac users are more likely to pay for their music than Windows users. In its quarterly Digital Music Monitor report, NPD says that 32 percent of Mac users reported purchasing music CDs during the third quarter of 2007, compared to 28 percent of PC users. While that difference may seem statistically insignificant, when it comes to paying for music downloads the gap is much bigger.
The data says that 50 percent of all Mac users surveyed by NPD purchased at least one song during the third quarter, while only 16 percent of Windows users purchased a song from an online music store. The research firm speculates that "Apple's growing share in the personal computing environment – and continued success with iPod sales – is a potential harbinger for the continued growth of digital music." But I wonder what would happen if Apple's market share were to increase to say 20 - 25 percent. Would all those former Windows users suddenly turn into online music shoppers? I somehow doubt that.