Online music doubles sales

Worldwide online sales of music doubled to $2 billion in 2006, but failed to compensate for lower CD sales, says the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). The Associated Press observes that the online realm today represents 10 percent of the market, but that the industry as a whole has shrunk by three percent. The report from the IFPI contradicts the organization's past expectations, which held that digital sales would compensate for the overall declines seen since 2002. The growth of online music has in fact slowed in its own right, since 2005 sales saw a threefold increase. IFPI chairman John Kennedy still hopes that 2007 will be the year that online sales rescue the music industry, particularly because of devices like the iPhone. Kennedy warns however that internet service providers may be targeted with lawsuits if they continue to allow known pirates to operate.

by MacNN Staff