Album Sales Take A Nosedive
As this article in Reuters notes, the music industry had an awful 2007 as total album sales plunged 15% to 500.5 million units, according to tracking data from Nielsen SoundScan. Online album sales rose an abysmal 2.4% to 30.1 million units and a 19% growth in 2006. The figures represent the lowest total and the steepest decline since Nielsen began measuring music sales in 1993. Experts (predictably) blamed piracy for the declines, but they also cited competition from other entertainment sectors like videogames.
Overall sales - including albums, singles, and digital tracks - rose 14 percent to 1.4 billion units, but this too is down from a 19% rise in 2006. The main driver of growth was a 45 percent jump in digital track sales to 844.2 million units. But even then, the pace slackened from 65 percent in 2006.
Clearly, the music industry desperately needs a new model - the need is there, its just that people have not gotten used to downloading music free from the net, and the concept of paying for it seems a little distant.
Related reads:
Music Label Joins The Ad Supported Bandwagon
Radiohead Presents A New Model For The Music Industry
The Music Industry Embraces The Web
Playing At A Computer Near You - Jackass 2.5, And That Too For Free
Online gaming moves away from subscriptions
Are we moving towards a free lunch?
Filed under: Business, Digital culture