Figures from the Official Chart Company in the UK have revealed that for the first time ever online music sales have eclipsed the sales of traditional music formats such as CD, cassettes and vinyl.
During the month of January it has been revealed that over 150,000 songs were downloaded from sites such as MyCokeMusic. This will be good news for all those companies who are offering downloadable music content, and bad news for traditional music outlets such as Virgin and HMV, who will most likely have to start looking for alternative ways to offer their music over and above the traditional high street record store format.
The Official Chart Company began testing it's Official Download Chart in October, with the aim of integrating this into it's official chart rating systems some time this year. With download music becoming so popular, it makes sense to use this information as part of the UK chart system.
The executive chairman of the British Phonographic Industry, Peter Jamieson, had this to say about the news:
Digital music services without doubt represent an exciting future for the music industry. Putting the systems in place to properly reward the artists and creators of music takes time, especially against a backdrop of tough market conditions and increasing piracy. Having been in development in recent years, more legitimate services are now available to consumers and these figures show that as a format the download has officially arrived.
Until the quality of downloadable music reaches the quality available in either CD or vinyl format, it is unlikely that these formats will die out completely. However the sheer convenience and ease of use of downloading songs from the internet, as well as devices such as Apple's iPod being able to store thousands of songs in a highly portable format, do signal that major changes in the way people acquire, store and listen to music are in motion. |
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