Album sales down, but music downloads soar

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Album sales down, but music downloads soar

Although U.S. album sales were down 4.2 percent in the first half of the year, digital music sales skyrocketed 77 percent, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures. “Nearly 281 million digital singles were purchased through July 2, compared to 158.8 million in the time frame last year,” reports AP. “More than 14 million full-album downloads were purchased in the first six months of this year, more than double the 6.5 million bought in the first half of 2005. The growth of online music purchases is a mixed blessing for recording companies, however. Such sales often come at the expense of more profitable album sales as music fans opt to cherry pick a few songs online instead of purchasing a whole album.”

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Comments

1

So how many singles and albums did iTunes sell in that period?

What about the subscription services?

Posted by wco81 in West Coast on July 10, 2006 at 3:38 PM (PDT)

2

This is the future of music. Get with it, record companies! Subscription services? Suckscription services! They’re a joke. Buying music by the song is the way of the future.

Posted by Charles O. on July 10, 2006 at 5:13 PM (PDT)

3

“Mixed blessing”? Oh the poor, poor babies…having to give their customers what they want and nothing more. Why pay $18 for a CD with only three songs you like instead of buying just those three singles at 99c each? For the artwork? Is THAT really worth the extra fifteen bucks? Pshawh! Yes Charles O., buying music by the song IS the way of the future. But remember, everything old is new again. I remember 45s.

Posted by Laer on July 11, 2006 at 12:13 AM (PDT)

4

>Why pay $18 for a CD with only three songs you like instead of buying just those three singles at 99c each?

1. Because when your computer crashes and you need to reinstall the hard drive or get a new computer, you will have the CDs to put the music back on iTunes. Good luck doing that with your 99c downloads.
2. Because you can copy CDs at 160 kbps or higher so that they actually sound like CD quality. iTunes 128 kbps isn’t good enough.

Posted by morebinky on July 11, 2006 at 6:46 AM (PDT)

5

Not only is this the next natural transition for the music business, but also for the entire entertainment business…albums-8 tracks-cassette tapes-cd’s-digital downloads! 3/4” tapes-laser disks-beta-vhs-dvd-hd dvd-digital download. FINALLY the Fan/Cunsomer controlls the distribution. A music store of, for and by the people. Check out the next ebay, yahoo or google…BurnLounge.com/idownload

Posted by john h. on July 11, 2006 at 8:26 AM (PDT)

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