Skip to main content

Music CD Sales Slump, Downloads Gaining

Hollywood Reporter -- Album sales declined 3.28 percent in the first quarter, with a slate of lackluster new releases contributing to a downturn in the first three months of 2006.

According to Nielsen SoundScan data for the week ending April 2, album sales -- full-length CDs plus digital albums purchased as "one-click" sales -- totaled 140.4 million units for the year's first quarter compared with 145.2 million for the same period in 2005, an overall decline of 4.7 million units.

In comparison with the first three months of 2005, digital sales continued on the upswing, though they still are dwarfed by sales of physical product. Digital album sales, tallying nearly 7.4 million units, increased 143 percent in the quarter, while sales of digital tracks jumped 89 percent to almost 144 million units.

In terms of market share, Universal Music Group maintained its lock on the top spot. Universal accounted for 30.7 percent of the market in the first quarter; that figure includes sales generated by its independent arm Fontana Distribution.

Popular posts from this blog

Think Global, Pay Local: The eCommerce Paradox

The world of eCommerce payments has evolved. As we look toward the latter half of this decade, we're witnessing a transformation in how digital commerce operates, with a clear shift toward localized payment solutions within a global marketplace. The numbers tell a compelling story. According to Juniper Research's latest analysis, global eCommerce transactions are set to reach $11.4 trillion by 2029, marking a 63 percent increase from $7 trillion in 2024. This growth isn't just about volume – it's about fundamental changes in how people pay for goods and services online. Perhaps most striking is the projected dominance of Alternative Payment Methods (APMs), which are expected to account for 69 percent of global transactions by 2029, with 360 billion transactions processed through these channels. eCommerce Payments Market Development What makes this shift particularly interesting is how it reflects the democratization of digital commerce. Traditional card-based systems ar...