CALinnovates, an advocacy organization for tech and public policy, sponsored the study. The survey pointed to high royalty rates as potentially threatening the existence of freemium tiers. Two in five respondents said a drop in the nuber of freemium platforms would increase piracy.
The results do conveniently support CALinnovates’ tech-friendly platform, but they also echo the findings of yesterday’s Nielsen 360 report. That research found that cost was a top deterrent to listeners signing up for music subscriptions, as well as a major factor in their decision-making about which music services to use.