Result not all upbeat for music

Derek Hawkins

Digital downloads had a short run as the top-selling format in the music industry. It took until 2011, a decade after the original iPod came out, for their sales to surpass those of CDs and vinyl, and they were overtaken by music streaming services a few years later.

Now, digital downloads are again being outsold by CDs and vinyl, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) says.

It released its 2017 year-end revenue report on Friday, showing that revenue from digital downloads plummeted 25 per cent to US$1.3 billion ($1.8b) over the previous year. Revenue from physical products, by contrast, fell just 4 per cent to US$1.5b.

Overall, the music industry grew for a second year straight. And with US$8.7b in total revenue, it’s healthier than it has been since 2008.

Nearly all the growth was the result of a continued surge in paid music subscription services such as Spotify and Apple Music. Those services grew by more than 50 per cent to US$5.7b last year, and accounted for nearly twothirds of industry revenue.

Physical media accounted for 17 per cent, while digital downloads made up 15 per cent.

RIAA Chairman Cary Sherman called the industry’s recovery “fragile” in a Medium post on Friday: “We’re delighted by the progress so far, but these two years of growth only return the business to 60 per cent of its peak size — about where it stood 10 years ago — and that’s ignoring inflation.”