The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has produced an informative study of trends in digital music: IFPI Digital Music Report 2011. The press release (with a link to the full report) can be found here. Although some findings are encouraging - revenue from digital music continues to grow, especially in Europe - the effects of piracy remain severe, and it seems to be hampering the emergence of new artists. Some extracts from the report:
Digital channels now account for 29 per cent of global music industry revenues, up from 25 per cent in 2009. Growth in 2010 was particularly strong in Europe (up nearly 20 per cent), while sales of digital albums rose strongly in major markets (up 29 per cent in the UK, 43 per cent in France and 13 per cent in the US) ...
The trend in global top 50 album sales in recent years shows a striking decline in both the number and proportion of successful releases globally by new artists. Between 2003 and 2010, the combined sales of debut albums featuring in the global top 50 fell by 77 per cent, from 47.7 million to 10.8 million (January to November). At the same time the number of debut albums in the top 50 has fallen, from 10 in 2003 to seven in 2010.
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