Report: Music Industry in Critical Phase

From eMarketer:

eMarketer estimates that worldwide spending on recorded music will actually decline—falling from $31.8 billion in 2006 to $26.2 billion in 2011.

The global recording industry is struggling in a rapidly changing marketplace.

"Digital formats such as online downloads, ringtones, mastertones, full tracks delivered to mobile handsets and Internet and mobile subscription services are providing new and growing revenue streams," says Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the new report Recorded Music: Digital Falls Short.

“But these new revenue streams are simply not enough to pick up the slack from free-falling CD sales,” he adds.

Bad news. But worse is that unless there is a sudden reversal of current trends, the recording industry can look forward to continued losses in the coming years.

“The next few years will be critical as labels, online retailers, mobile carriers and artists attempt to find new models, or refine existing ones, in an effort to restore some of the gold and platinum shine that the business has lost in the digital era,” says Mr. Verna.

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