January 19, 2007
Digital music doubled in 2006 - 10% of all music salesA new International Federation Of The Phonographic Industry report confirms that global digital music sales almost doubled in 2006 so that they were worth over $2 billion - and about 10% of all music sales. Some 795 million tracks were downloaded from nearly 500 legitimate online music services in 40 countries - an 89% increase on 2005. The trade body now reckons the growth will continue so that digital accounts for a quarter of worldwide music sales by 2010.
But, and it's a crucial but, the report also confirms that, even with the recent boom, digital sales were not fully compensating for the slump in physical CD sales, meaning that overall music sales were down - by 4% in the first half of last year.
