Japanese users preferring legal purchases of music online

The Recording Industry Association of Japan has revealed in a data report that the growing popularity of PC and mobile phone music download services has propelled Japan’s online music market to new heights in the first three months of this year.

As per the statistics, the RIAJ’s 42-member record companies served up 89 million downloads in the first quarter. This was a growth of an astounding 71 percent on the same period a year earlier. These downloads alone were worth around US$108 million. This figure is an improvement of 83 percent on the first quarter of 2005.

Mobile downloads have been more popular in Japan compared to the western countries. However, trends are changing and people are also purchasing and downloading stuff on their personal computers.

The market seems to have gained from the entry of Apple’s iTunes Music Store, which opened in Japan in August 2005.