According to In-Stat, while Peer-2-Peer and piracy issues have not entirely disappeared, consumers are showing heightened awareness and interest in legitimate online music services -- "The worldwide online music market is expected to grow 134% this year, reaching $1 billion for the first time. With increased competition between sites this year, differentiation will be a key strategy. Sites are building larger catalogs and working with labels to offer new types of digital content, such as live concerts and remixes. In addition, branding and customer loyalty will be a primary focus. In-Stat's survey found that the average amount spent in the past year for online music was $25. Over half of the survey respondents who have downloaded music from the Internet admitted to not paying for it. And, 35% of the respondents are owners of an MP3 player, with 70% saying it was their first one."
The Open Banking business model has been advantageous for Third-Party Providers (TPPs), helping them to extend their offerings into other areas of financial services with new capabilities. Open Banking is also advantageous for traditional banking institutions, despite the perceived loss of custodianship over their data, by providing greater accessibility to more bank services. Furthermore, Open Banking can help serve Mobile Internet providers that are able to leverage it to create tailored services according to customers’ preferences and/or economic limitations. Open Banking Market Development Since traditional banking services are made more convenient by TPPs via greater data access, customers can proactively manage their finances and shape the development of new financial offerings. This is particularly noticeable in the realm of Digital Payments, where retail merchants and customers transact through eCommerce, which has the greatest number of use cases for Open Banking. These includ