Downloads in music overload

Via an email from Marc Cohen:

With more than 15,000 songs available at the touch of a button, the iPod generation has more access to music than ever before. But now experts believe consumers are suffering from musical overload.

New research on the listening habits of music fans has revealed that many now plug in their ear-phones out of habit rather than for enjoyment.

The study by psychologists at the University of Leicester found that while new technology has widened people's access to music, they pay less attention to it.

When asked to assess the attention they were paying to the music on a scale of one to ten the participants gave an average rating of 4.8.