Yet more evidence that Mac users are cooler than PC users

Mac users are much more likely to download music and listen to it on their computers than PC owners, according to an NPD Group study reported by InformationWeek.

The study found almost 50% of Mac users paid to download tunes in the three months to September 2007, well ahead of the 16% of PC users who did so. Unsurprisingly, given the popularity of the Apple iPod, they were also much more likely to transfer that music and listen to it on a portable music device.

Mac users are also much more likely to listen to music files on their computers, with 56% doing so compared to just 31% of their PC-using counterparts.

And it’s not just that Mac users are just more online savvy – they are also slightly more likely to buy music CDs, with 32% of Mac users making a purchase in the September quarter compared with 28% of PC users.

“There’s still a cultural divide between Apple consumers and the rest of the computing world, and that’s especially apparent when it comes to the way they interact with music,” NPD analyst Russ Crupnick told InformationWeek.