Making Sense Out Of Digital Music Sales Numbers

from the picking-through-for-meaning dept

Now that we've jumped into 2007, we're going to be seeing plenty of stories summarizing how different products or industries did in 2006, and it seems that the music industry is the first one out the door. Wasting no time at all, Nielsen SoundScan released some data on music sales, which pretty much states the obvious. Traditional album sales were down, but digital download purchases were way up. That's all in unit numbers, not dollar amounts, so it gets tricky to mix and match -- but it's barely worthwhile to bother, honestly. The trends are pretty clear, and the interesting results don't come in the gradual shift from one format to the other, but when the more creative business models start showing up. The fact that older music performed better (trend-wise) than new music could be a function of a variety of different things, from the overall quality of new music to the simple fact that the rise in the use of infinite digital shelves simply makes it all much more available (and searchable). However, what might be even more interesting is the news that digital music buyers are really good for the overall music industry (not just the recording industry). This shouldn't be a surprise, but considering that the recording industry likes to paint online music listeners as a bunch of thieves who want everything for free, it's nice to hear that many are actually spending more on music, listening to more music (even exploring new genres), going to more concerts and discussing music more with other people. If you're in the music business and that doesn't scream out opportunity, rather than the threat so many have made it out to be, then you're in the wrong business.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Sanguine Dream, 5 Jan 2007 @ 1:29pm

    Hate to sound negative...

    but I can see the RIAA trying to spin this to the angle that people don't mind buying music that is bogged down with DRM. And that will then be equated to customers like DRM therefore they must implement more DRM.

    But it is good to see that digital music purchases are up which will hopefully open up the RIAA's eyes and make them realize that the days of trying to force CDs and vinyl down our throats are numbered.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Noel Le, 6 Jan 2007 @ 2:32pm

    Sanguine, its apparent that DRM is in fact *not* bogging down the digital music industry. I don't think this translates to consumers *liking* DRM as much as it says DRM enables a digital market where both producers and consumers benefit.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.