Following the results of yesterday’s poll, as well as several comments submitted via email, have lead me to the following conclusions.

The real question yesterday was this: Is iTunes the #2 retailer of music to bluegrass fans? It seems it may be #1 among those who took our poll. “Direct from artist” took the number one position in the results, but that’s not one single retail outlet. It is encouraging though to see that bluegrass fans still prefer to support the artists in this way. “Other” was the second most popular choice, and here’s where the emails come in. Some of you wrote in to share specifics of your “Other” choice.

I realize we are a self selecting group, in that we are all already online (you’re reading this on a computer right?), so we don’t represent those bluegrass fans who aren’t online. What that percentage is I don’t know. Nationally it’s about 30%.

iTunes we know to be digital downloads, let’s call this “virtual product.” Amazon could be virtual product, or physical product (CDs) either one. What percentage of “Direct from artist” and “Other” is virtual? I don’t know, though I suspect it’s quite low. What percentage is purchased online, even if it is physical? That number is probably higher.

So let’s try two more polls. I’ll put them both below and ask that you participate in both. The first will be a very simple choice, asking your preference between virtual (digital downloads) and physical (CDs) product. The second will be an experiment. Let’s see if we can find the most popular retail outlet. For our purposes I’m bringing back several of the most popular options from yesterday’s poll, combining Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart.com into one option, dividing Direct from artist into two options, adding a couple new ones suggested in your emails, and (here’s the experimental part) allowing you the option of adding a new choice. If your first choice of retailer isn’t already there, just select “other” and then type in your choice.

So let’s here it bluegrass fans!

[poll:7]

[poll:6]

* UPDATE: I went in to “fix” the title for an option and wiped out the first 12 votes. Sorry guys! If you choose “other” please specify by changing the text to the name of the retail outlet you use. Thanks.