online music sales up

Hi People, Found the following article that may be of interest to DES fans.

LONDON (AFP) — Global sales of music online rose by 40 percent in 2007, confirming the soaring popularity of legal Internet-based music stores, said an industry report published Thursday.

Online sales of music totalled an estimated 2.9 billion dollars (1.9 billion euros) last year, said the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in its annual report.

That compared with compared to 2.1 billion dollars in 2006, and 380 million dollars in 2004.

"A revolution is sweeping the music industry as record companies adapt to a new digital marketplace," John Kennedy, IFPI's chairman and CEO wrote in the report.

Between 2003 and 2007, the number of legal online music stores has increased more than tenfold, from around 30 to more than 500.

And the number of legally available tracks has risen from around one million to more than six million.

Overall, digital music sales now account for around 15 percent of the global music industry, having started from zero in 2003.

The song that was most-downloaded last year was Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend", IFPI said, followed by Utada Hikaru's "Flavor of Life" and Rihanna's "Umbrella".

The IFPI, which has been leading a long-running campaign against illegally downloaded, or "pirated" music, also called on governments around the world to put together a "concrete programme of action" against online music piracy.

The organisation cited the example of the "Sarkozy agreement" in France, where internet service providers committed to disconnect users who persistently infringed on copyright.

END


No surprise really but the following article may show the future direction. A direction flagged by DES.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0,22606,23114989-5006301,00.html?from=mostpop