Americans tune into online music

Almost a fourth of Americans have downloaded digital music and listened to online radio, according to a new report by Ipsos-Reid. The international research firm said 50 million Americans, or 23 percent of the U.S. population, age 12 and over have downloaded songs or an MP3 file off the Web.

In its latest study, titled "Tempo: Keeping Pace with Online Music Distribution," Ipsos-Reid reported that 27 percent of Americans listened to online radio, 21 percent streamed audio, and 37 percent listened to a pre-recorded music CD in a CD-ROM drive. Although young Americans continue to dominate online music's audience, Ipsos-Reid found that older Americans are starting to experiment with digital music. The research firm said 35 percent of adults age 25 to 34 have downloaded music, while two-fifths of 12- to 24- year-olds have downloaded music or MP3 files.