October 13, 2006
Music sales weaken in first half
The Financial Times reports on the state of the music industry.
"The decline in music industry revenues accelerated in the first half of 2006, defying record executives’ hopes of returning to growth this year and raising fresh questions about whether they are winning the fight against piracy and illegal downloads.
Revenues from physical formats, such as compact discs and music videos, were down 10 per cent worldwide, compared with the 6.7 per cent decline seen in the previous full year.
... The legal digital music market continued to accelerate, rising 106 per cent to $945m, or 11 per cent of the total recorded music market - double the share it claimed at the end of 2005. In the US, where digital sales increased by 84 per cent, online and mobile music now accounts for 18 per cent of the total market."
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