-
Half Of Atlantic's Sales Are Now Digital
November 25, 2008 at 12:18 PM (PT)
What do you think? Add your comment below. -
Since MP3s first became popular a decade ago, music industry executives have obsessed over this question: When would digital music sales finally represent a majority of sales?
For ATLANTIC RECORDS, the label that in years past has delivered the jazz greats RAY CHARLES and JOHN COLTRANE, as well as LED ZEPPELIN, that time, apparently, is now, writes IHT.COM. ATLANTIC says it has reached a milestone that no other major record label has hit: More than half of its music sales in the UNITED STATES are now from digital products, like downloads on ITUNES and ring tones for cellphones.
"We're like a college basketball team on an 18-2 run," said Chairman/CEO CRAIG KALLMAN.
But with this milestone comes a sobering reality. While digital delivery is becoming a bigger slice of the pie, the overall pie is shrinking fast. Analysts at FORRESTER RESEARCH now estimate U.S. music sales will decline to $9.2 billion in 2013 from $10.1 billion this year. That compares with U.S. music sales of $14.6 billion in 1999, according to the RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA.