International Herald Tribune: Music sales fell to their lowest level in at least 10 years as an increase in digital content sales failed to make up for declines in compact discs and the effects of piracy, an industry group said Wednesday.
Global music sales dropped 8 percent to 12,5 billion Euro in 2007, according to a report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Revenue came in at its slowest pace since at least 1997, the first year for which the body issued figures. Physical sales of CDs and DVDs fell 13 percent to 10,2 billion Euro. Sales of downloaded songs and mobile-phone ringtones rose 34 percent to 1,8 billion Euro.
Digital sales “are growing healthily but, crucially, not fast enough to arrest the overall decline of the market,” said John Kennedy, chairman and chief executive of the industry group.
Tackling online piracy is essential to the industry’s fortunes, according to the report.
The cabinet of President Nicolas Sarkozy of France approved a draft bill Wednesday to introduce new sanctions aimed at individuals who illegally download content from the Internet.
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