Despite the popularity of digital music, from single-track purchases to subscriptions, physical media has continued to generate the most music revenue in (almost) every market in the world. According to data from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), though, that will soon change: revenue from digital music sales worldwide are on track to equal that of physical sales as early as 2016, and by 2010 in the United States.
Digital music first appeared as a statistic in IFPI’s measurements in 2004, when it constituted just two percent of total music revenue. At the end of 2008, digital music accounted for 20 percent of the revenue of all music sales worldwide, and has steadily increased by about five percentage points every year since 2005. If the growth continues at this rate, worldwide revenue generated from digital music will equal that of all physical media sold sometime in mid-2016.
Originally Syndicated via RSS from Ars Technica – News
