MUMBAI: Indians are the most passionate, television-driven music consumers in Asia with 71 per cent of Indians rating themselves as fairly to very passionate about music.

The recent Branded, MTV and Synovate Music Matters survey, which was released at the 2007 Music Matters Asia Pacific Forum in Hong Kong, explores the music habits and attitudes of young urban Asians. Synovate surveyed 3,857 respondents aged 15 to 34 years in China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Synovate director media research Asia Pacific Craig Harvey said that the Music Matters survey provides music executives and marketers with comprehensive insights into the unique music market in India, as well as Asia as a whole.

“India is a dynamic, exciting market, distinct from the rest of Asia in terms of consumers’ love for music with 71 per cent of Indians rating themselves as fairly to very passionate about music, the highest rate regionally and far higher than countries like China (42 per cent), Korea (45 per cent) and Singapore (38 per cent),” he said.

The survey showed that Indian consumers are also the most passionate about music on television, with 67 per cent of respondents watching music videos on television almost every day and a further 22 per cent watching them two to three times a week, rates far surpassing that in other nations.

“Although the relatively low internet penetration rate in India means consumers there use digital music far less than in other parts of Asia, marketers should take note of the fast-growing segment embracing music on mobile phones, with one third of respondents having downloaded and saved a song to their mobile phone in the past month, and 56 per cent ready to replace their digital music devices with music-playing mobile phones,” Harvey added.

Highlights of the report:

• 67 per cent watch music videos on television almost every day and 22 per cent watch them two to three times a week, the highest rates in Asia. Regionally, 33 per cent of consumers watch music videos almost every day and 25 per cent watch them two to three times a week.
  
• Television was named by 44 per cent of consumers as the device used most often to listen to music. Regionally, radio was chosen by 20 per cent as the device most often used to listen to music, with 19 per cent choosing television.
  
• 85 per cent nominated local pop as their preferred type of music to listen to regularly, followed by classical music (42 per cent) and western music (40 per cent).
  
• 56 per cent are ready to replace their digital music player with a music-playing mobile phone.

In addition, in the past month: 40 per cent played music on a computer; 49 per cent played music on an MP3 player; 33 per cent downloaded and saved a song to their phone; 36 per cent purchased music in a physical store; 13 per cent purchased a counterfeit music CD – below the regional average of 19 per cent.