music sales

Groovy Records

Digital music downloads reached a milestone in 2008, exceeding 1 billion songs bought online during the year, according to a report from Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales. That represents a 27 percent rise over a year ago.

But the popularity of the download is not enough to offset continued declines in CD sales, which still account for the bulk of the music industry's revenue.

Disc sales fell nearly 20 percent, to 362.6 million, the seventh decline in eight years, according to SoundScan's report, which was released Wednesday.

Overall album sales, including CDs and the digital equivalent, dropped 8.5 percent compared with 2007. [Chicago Tribune]

How often do you pay for music?

posted at 10:03 AM on January 2, 2009 in industry | music | Comments (33)