Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular
Secondary Navigation
Search
Search:
Global digital music sales up 25 percent
Reuters - Saturday, January 17
By Kate Holton
London - Legitimate digital music sales grew strongly in 2008 but were still dwarfed by the scale of illegal downloads, despite industry efforts to adapt to the Internet and offer more choice to customers.
A report by the trade body IFPI showed legal digital global sales grew by an estimated 25 percent to $3.7 billion in trade value, to account for about 20 percent of the industry's global recorded music sales, up from 15 percent in 2007.
However, the rapid rate of growth has inevitably slowed -- digital sales grew by more than 30 percent in 2007 -- and the scale of the piracy has eaten into traditional revenues, meaning the overall music market for 2008 is expected to be down about 7 percent. It fell by 8 percent in 2007.
The report showed about 95 percent of the music downloaded in 2008, or more than 40 billion files, was illegal and not paid for.
As part of its response, the music industry has launched a host of alternative ways to sell music, such as through subscription models on mobile phones and Internet service providers , and on advertising-supported models.
It has also pushed ISPs to help curb mass copyright infringement on their networks and believes it has reached a "tipping point" in persuading governments that doing nothing is not an option.
"The recorded music industry is reinventing itself and its business models," IFPI Chairman and Chief Executive John Kennedy said in the report.
"Music companies have changed their whole approach to doing business, reshaped their operations and responded to the dramatic transformation in the way music is distributed and consumed."
Mobile companies and operators have shown an interest in packaging music with their core services in the last couple of years, as a way of growing loyalty and reducing the number of users who churn off the service.
According to the report, Denmark's telephone operator TDC has seen churn drop significantly since it bundled music with its mobile and broadband services.
Churn among its mobile customers dropped by between 30 percent and 40 percent and in broadband customers by some 60 percent -- both highly attractive improvements for any company focussed on keeping its customers during the economic downturn.
Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, launched a phone model with an unlimited music bundle in Britain in 2008, in a bid to challenge the dominance of Apple and its popular iPhone.
Advertising-supported services are also taking off, with a joint venture between social network MySpace and the four major music labels known as MySpace Music one of the most exciting propositions to hit the market.
The development of new services and the apparent interest from some governments in helping to curb piracy has, Kennedy said, resulted in the industry feeling more confident about its future than in recent years.
Single track downloads were up 24 percent in 2008 to 1.4 billion units globally while digital albums were up 36 percent.
"A percentage of the existing business is not the way to measure the growth of the digital business," Rob Wells, the senior vice president of digital for Universal Music Group International, said on a conference call.
"This is a brand new business and I won't be satisfied until the business is bigger than it's ever been and I think that's something we can achieve within the next five years."
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Related Articles: Technology
Advanced Micro Devices to cut 1,100 jobs and reduce salariesAFP - Saturday, January 17
Dump-friends-for-Whoppers application irks FacebookAFP - Saturday, January 17
Global digital music sales up 25 percentReuters - Saturday, January 17
EU accuses Microsoft of harming browser competitionReuters - Saturday, January 17
Sprint pitches $2 billion emergency network to ObamaReuters - Saturday, January 17
Enlarge Photo
A customer checks out Music Store (on a screen) with Apple iTunes at an Apple store in Tokyo in this August 25, 2006 file photo.
Most Popular – Technology
Viewed
Hormone drives sexy women to infidelity, says study
Michelle Obama's ball gown has fashionistas abuzz
Israel hammers Gaza as Hamas offers conditional truce
Microsoft considering 'significant' job cuts: WSJ
Obama receives boost ahead of assuming presidency
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Top Stories
Most Popular