Understanding the Gap between Physical and Digital Music to Develop an Online Labelling Tool

This paper reports on contextual enquiry research and usability testing to support the development of an online CD labelling tool for use in conjunction with a music downloading service. The tool was developed around the hypothesis that restoring some of the tangible value of purchased CDs that is absent in home-burned CDs might encourage additional paid-for downloading of tracks and even albums. The research explored this hypothesis, identified the different ways people might want to use the tool and identified features and functionality to encourage its adoption. The findings reinforce the view that the tangibility of purchased CDs is an important aspect of the experience and that by partially restoring this online music providers can add to perceptions of value and encourage customers to pay for their music downloads.