Hindsight · review build · data not yet validated
Most purchases of books, musical “albums,” videos, games and other forms of software do not involve any physical object, so new business models for distributing these forms of information have emerged.
Grader A: partial
Digital-only purchase was common for single music tracks and apps in 2009, but not for books (e-books about 3% of sales in 2009), videos or most games. E-book share grew to 8.5% by mid-2010 and e-books passed hardcovers only in Q1 2012. Across the listed categories, most purchases went non-physical only around 2012-2014, if at all for books.
Test: Share of purchases with no physical object: e-books 3% of US book sales in 2009, 8.5% mid-2010; iTunes sold 10 billion songs by Feb 2010. Measurable (>5%) but not a majority across categories in 2009.
Grader B: partial
In 2009 most purchases in these categories still involved physical objects. E-books were about 3% of US book sales in 2009 and 8.5% by mid-2010. Music passed the threshold first: digital was 50.3% of US music purchases in 2011. E-books passed hardcover sales in Q1 2012. New distribution models (iTunes, App Store, Netflix streaming) did emerge. 'Most purchases' across books, albums, videos, games and software was not true by 2011. It was reached only category by category, from 2011 onward.
Test: Test: over 50% of purchases in each category non-physical. 2009 figures: e-books about 3%. Music: under 50% in 2009; 50.3% of purchases in 2011 (Nielsen/Billboard). Books and video: not a majority by 2011.