April 19, 2007
Despite revenue slump, RIAA still not getting the big picture
The RIAA has released its 2006 year-end shipment statistics, and they tell a familiar tale. Shipments of physical media such as CDs continue their decline while the number of downloads continues to soar. Overall revenues continue their slide, as revenues from the increased number of digital sales failed to make up for falling CD sales. ars technica reports.
... "Digital sales—which include downloads, kiosks, ringtones, subscriptions, and music videos—continue to be a success story for the music industry. The RIAA reported a 27.6 percent increase in digital sales versus 2005, and when mobile sales (e.g., ringtones and direct-to-phone downloads) are taken out of the picture, unit sales jumped 63.2 percent. It's a significant drop from last year's 166.2 percent year-over-year growth, but still something the industry should be pleased with.
... Unfortunately, it appears that the music industry is still having trouble grasping the scope of the challenges it faces. Retailers and legal services will always have to compete with piracy, and no amount of file-sharing litigation is going to change it."
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