Report: Half Of All Music Sold To Be Digital In 2011

Bad News For Analog

Half of all music sold in the U.S. will be digital in 2011 and sales of digitally downloaded music will surpass physical compact disc sales in 2012, according to a new report by FORRESTER RESEARCH INC., reports THE BOSTON BUSINESS JOURNAL. FORRESTER said that digital music sales will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 23% over the next five years, reaching $4.8 billion in revenue by 2012. In contrast, by 2012, CD sales will be reduced to $3.8 billion.

"This is the end of the music industry as we know it," said VP/Principal Analyst JAMES MCQUIVEY in a statement. "Media executives eager to stay afloat in this receding tide must clear the path of discovery and purchase, but only hardware and software providers can ultimately make listening to music as easy as turning on the radio."

This is the end of the music industry as we know it.

The FORRESTER report is based in part on a survey of more than 5,000 consumers in the U.S. and CANADA.

« see more Net News