While traditional radio remains the most popular means of accessing music, radio listening has declined 4 percent in the last year while listening to music on a computer has increased by 22 percent, according to a survey of 5,000 consumers conducted by NPD Group. The study noted that 194 million people reported listening to the radio in March, while 77.2 million listened on a computer. Online radio listening increased 18 percent to 53.5 million, as did free streaming of online music, which was up 37 percent to 46.1 million consumers. NPD also found that the number of consumers ripping music onto their computers increased 102 percent from a year ago, while transferring music to MP3 players jumped 127 percent and paying to download songs grew 93 percent. "The rise of digital listening and storage for music continues unabated this year," said NPD Group's Russ Crupnick. "Technology companies are providing new tools to consumers in the form of powerful music-enabled PCs and portable music players, music companies are answering the call for more content and consumers are responding positively."
What was once a simple, unidirectional flow of electricity from centralized power plants to passive consumers is evolving into a complex, intelligent network where millions of distributed resources actively participate in grid operations. This transformation, powered by smart grid technologies, represents one of the most significant infrastructure shifts of our time. It promises to reshape how we generate, distribute, and consume energy. At its core, the smart grid represents far more than mere digitization of existing infrastructure. This bi-directional capability is fundamental to understanding why smart grids are becoming the backbone of modern energy systems, facilitating everything from real-time demand response to the integration of renewable energy sources. Smart Grid Market Development By 2030, smart grid technologies are projected to cover nearly half of the global electrical grid, up dramatically from just 24 percent in 2025. This expansion is underpinned by explosive gr...