About 12 percent of European Internet users paid for online content in 2007, but that number is expected to increase to 19 percent by 2013, a new report by JupiterResearch, LLC predicts, paidContent reported Tuesday. This means online paid content could rake in €5 billion in Europe 2013, up from €1.4 billion in 2007.

Behind the expected spike in paid content is the number of people migrating to legal online music downloading services. Although music netted 29 percent of paid content revenues in Europe in 2007, it is expected to make up 51 percent of all online paid content by 2013, the Jupiter report states.

However, in the news business, the paid model is still expected to only have a major role in business and digital-edition content, making up just 1.1 percent of the overall market, paidContent reported.

“While free content will continue to dominate, as overall online audiences for all content categories continue to grow, so the number of European users willing to pay for content online will grow at an even greater rate,” the JupiterResearch report states, according to paidContent.

JupiterResearch also predicts in its executive summary that although “online video will be the most popular content category online, music will see the highest pay conversion rates in an otherwise modestly performing European paid content market that will dominated by free.”

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