UK downloads break 500,000 mark

[VCDHunter]

UK downloads break 500,000 mark

UK music fans have legally downloaded more than 500,000 songs so far this year, industry figures show. The biggest-selling download of the year to date is Coldplay's 2,000 Miles, just ahead of OutKast's Hey Ya!.

The half-a-million barrier was broken just a week after the UK launch of Napster, whose sales are not included in the figures.

The British Phonographic Industry's (BPI) figures also reveal that the cassette single has died as a format.

In the first quarter of 2003, £418,000 worth of cassette singles were sold - but there were no shipments in the first three months of this year.

The lack of shipments "effectively marked the demise of the format", said the BPI.

But the UK music industry will be buoyed by the growth in legal downloads. That market was practically non-existent this time last year.

BPI chairman Peter Jamieson said: "With 500,000 legal downloads sold already this year, we have hit yet another milestone in the development of this exciting new market for music. This is shaping up to be a breakthrough year for the music industry."

UK MUSIC INDUSTRY
Album sales down 3%
Music DVD sales up 22.5%
CD singles down 32.1%
7-inch vinyl up 47.8%
Source: BPI. All figures are Jan-Mar 2004 compared with Jan-Mar 2003.


The first quarter of 2004 also saw a 47.8% rise in the sales of vinyl 7-inch singles.

But CD single sales dropped by almost a third on the same period last year, while CD album sales were down almost 3%.

The BPI said the small decline in CD album sales would "come as a relief in an industry which has seen double digit declines in some major markets".

'Resilience'
Album sales account for more than 90% of the UK industry's revenue.

The total value of the UK music industry fell 4.3% in the first three months of 2004 compared with the same period last year.

But figures for the full 12 months to March show CD album sales rose 3.8% compared with the previous year, while the overall value of the market grew 3%.

"The fact that album sales continue to show such resilience is a good start to what many had predicted would be a tough year for music," said the BPI in its quarterly review.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3769365.stm

[flaninacupboard]

interesting about 7 inchers....

a whole article and no-one mentioned the P word, makes you proud to be English

[VCDHunter]

interesting about 7 inchers....

Who is still buying that shit ?

a whole article and no-one mentioned the P word, makes you proud to be English

doesn't make me proud to be english :P

[flaninacupboard]

probably not, but im not going to say "proud to be british"

I have few 7 inchers, mostly coloured promo stuff.

[VCDHunter]

probably not, but im not going to say "proud to be british"

I have few 7 inchers, mostly coloured promo stuff.

I have a few 7 inchers, like yourself mainly coloured picture discs or some old stuff I had when I was a kid. I've got quite a few 12 inchers of promo stuff, gate folds, piture discs etc. But I wouldn't even consider buying anything now, so it does beg the question who is buying what on 7 inch vinyl ? (Cap need not answer this one )

[flaninacupboard]

deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeejaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaays?

although i thought they used 12" 45's for mixin' and scrathcin' ?

[Nilfennasion]

One of my favourite singles, Impaled Nazarene's Satanic Masowhore, was a seven-inch vinyl. Granted, it was only four minutes long, but I'd rather pay seven bucks for that than what RIAA approve of. :P

[tlegion]

Old jukeboxes still use 7in vinyl records.

[VCDHunter]

Old jukeboxes still use 7in vinyl records.

Well I wouldn't expect "old" jukeboxes to use DVD Audio and that hardly accounts for a 47.8 % rise in 7 inch sales.

[Capmaster]

(Biting his tongue)I am impressed with you "proper" English gentlemen. All this talk about "7-inchers" and "12-inchers" and this thread has yet to turn into a "TTIFU", after this many posts.

Of course now that I've mentioned it, it'll certainly degrade. I hope not - I kinda like a thread with good manners for a change
.
.
.
Who am I kidding
(sings in a low voice) Colon..Colon..Colon...pounding on your Colon ....

[flaninacupboard]

yeah, but this isn't in OT cap, you've strayed out of that twisted little corner.........

[SatStorm]

DJs and music lovers use vinyl discs. I use to buy import 7" vinyl from UK. I stopped somewhere in 2000.
Also, a 7" vinyl record, is an "exotic" and also "tastefull" present for many 30+ year olds.

I never bought CDs as a DJ. Only Vinyl. And when I did the switch, I went straight to mp3s and DVD Video collections (samplers, greatest hits, etc).

[Capmaster]

yeah, but this isn't in OT cap, you've strayed out of that twisted little corner.........

OMG! I hadn't realized that I had strayed to a legitimate thread. I'll have to be more careful next time.