Digital music sales in 2006 doubled over the previous year. As did the number of songs made available online. Record labels have become somewhat more comfortable as they continue to try and find the right combination of distribution models along with digital music products.
In a new report from the IFPI “Digital Music Report 2007” says that digital music sales account for 10 percent of the music market. In 2006 digital music sales revenue hit an estimated $2 billion while the number of songs available online reached four million.
“The record industry today has evolved into a digital thinking, digitally literate business,” said IFPI CEO John Kennedy. “We expect at least one quarter of all music sales worldwide to be digital.”
The report points out that while digital music sales have helped struggling record labels achieve a revenue stream it has not been enough to close the gap on declining CD sales. Digital piracy and the devaluation of music continue to be a challenge for the digital music business.
On the piracy issue Kennedy said,” With cooperation from ISPs we could make huge strides in tackling Internet piracy globally. It is very unfortunate that it seems to need pressure from governments or even action in the courts to achieve this, but as an industry we are determined to see this campaign through to the end.”
Consumers seem to be enjoying all the advantages that digital music has to offer. They are able to search online stores for rare songs or albums that may be out of print and would be difficult to obtain from a traditional offline store.
Kennedy said,” The chief winners in the rise of digital music are consumers. They have effectively been given access to 24-hour music stores with unlimited shelf space. They can consume music in new ways and formats – an iTunes download, a video on YouTube, a ringtone or a subscription library.”
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Mike is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
