RIAA Sales Figures Show 2011 Was A Good Year

Sales Were Up In 2011

If you heard a collective "woo-hoo" YESTERDAY, it just might have been music company execs, THE NEW YORK POST reports that "in addition to posting the first annual increase in units sold since 2004 last year, the music business also produced its first revenue increase in seven years, according to figures released yesterday."

Music sales ticked up 0.2% in 2011, said THE RIAA, to just above $7 billion. Digital music now accounts for half of all sales in the U.S.

THE POST noted "the increase was fueled, in part, by the album downloads and subscription services such as SPOTIFY, RHAPSODY, RDIO and MOG. The subscription model received a boost in the second half of the year with the introduction of SPOTIFY in the U.S. and FACEBOOK's embrace of sharing music through social networking."

The RIAA data showed the number of people subscribing to music services in 2011 was up nearly 19% to 1.8 million people, generating $241 million, 13.5% more revenue compared to 2010. The RIAA also noted digital single-song sales were up 13% to $1.49 billion.

« see more Net News