U.S. to Remaster Economic Data With Digital Streaming and Vinyl
U.S. to Remaster Economic Data With Digital Streaming and Vinyl
(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. government’s economic data will soon catch up with digital reality for consumers and detail spending on streaming video and audio services like Netflix and Spotify.
It will also acknowledge the comeback of an analog standby: vinyl records.
The consumer-spending category of “video media rental” will be renamed “video and audio streaming and rental,” with video and audio service subcategories, according to the Commerce Department’s preview Tuesday of broad annual revisions to data and methodology scheduled for late July. Other nomenclature tweaks will denote the inclusion of new-economy innovations like tablets and ride-sharing services, while retiring references to relics such as fax machines and blank videotapes.
Previous Series Title | New Series Title |
Prerecorded and blank audio discs/tapes/digital files/downloads | Audio discs, tapes, vinyl, and permanent digital downloads |
Video cassettes and discs, blank and prerecorded | Video discs, tapes, and permanent digital downloads |
Video media rental | Video and audio streaming and rental Video streaming and rental services Audio streaming and rental services |
Personal computers and peripheral equipment | Personal computers/tablets and peripheral equipment |
Telephone and facsimile equipment | Telephone and related communication equipment |
Taxicabs | Taxicabs and ride sharing services |
The changes are aimed at providing “additional insight into the digital economy,” the report said.
Other changes coming in July include an effort to improve seasonal adjustments to gross domestic product, as well as introduce non-seasonally adjusted figures, according to the preview.
To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Lanman in Washington at slanman@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Scott Lanman at slanman@bloomberg.net, Vince Golle
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