That’s a 62% increase over 2006, but slim pickings when you think that predicted sales are expected to hit $6.6bn by 2011. It means that the music labels will start to see profit from online music sales – and maybe we’ll hear less bitching from them about file sharing and illegal downloads.
According to Strategy Analytics, author of the Online Music: Global Market Forecast report, the big rise in online sales (almost 800 million tracks and 43 million albums were downloaded last year, making sales of $1.23bn worldwide) is not yet enough to offset the drop in physical sales, but it expects the next 12-18 months to become the “turning point for the music industry”.
"The music labels are finally starting to see digital sales having a positive impact on the bottom line," said David Mercer, VP and Principal Analyst at Strategy Analytics. "This year will likely be the turning point for the music industry, and a return to overall revenue growth."
Part of the reason for this rapid growth is because iTunes, which is responsible for the bulk of online music downloads, will be able to sell tracks that will work across a range of devices, such as mobile phones.
Martin Olausson, director of Strategy Analytics' Digital Media Strategies service, said the move by EMI and Apple means iTunes can be positioned "to sell content not only for its own devices but for all connected devices - both in the online and wireless domains".
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