Music sales in the US rose by more than 9% in the first three months of 2004 compared with the same period last year - signalling an end to a four-year dip.
The 9.1% upturn in sales of CDs, music DVDs and legal downloads is a ray of light for an industry that has battled online piracy and new technology.
For the first time since 2000, two albums - by Norah Jones and Usher - had weekly sales of more than one million.
"We've had a big run so far," Billboard Magazine's Geoff Mayfield said.
But he added: "Because we've had three years of erosion, at least for the first eight months of the year, it will be relatively easy for the industry to post increases."
The upturn, which began at the end of 2003, saw CD sales rise 10.6%, according to the figures from Nielsen SoundScan.
R&B singer Usher is currently number one in the US album chart
Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, said the figures were "good news" - but were being compared with a very low point.
"The numbers of 2003 were down about 10 to 12% from the year before. If we didn't have that kind of increase, it would be really terrible," he said.
The music industry has been hit hard by the sales slump, with many record companies forced to restructure and shed jobs.
The industry blamed illegal online song-swapping - where music fans copy songs without permission and put them on the internet for other people to download for free.
A major legal assault, including lawsuits against almost 2,000 downloaders, has been launched to stem the practice.
Now, the music industry is beginning to harness the technology, with new legal download sites like Apple's iTunes selling almost 20 million songs in 2003.
Have people who downloaded songs actually went out and bought the cds of the albums they liked after trying 1st?
― Raul, Saturday, 10 April 2004 12:23 (twenty-two years ago)
well, looks like they're running with it
downloading music gets more expensive: http://www.macnn.com/news/24131
first two paragraphs for those of you without $79/yr WSJ online accounts:
>Ethan Smith
>Wall Street Journal
>Apr. 7, 2004 11:00 AM
>
To see the future of online music prices, look no further than "Fly or Die," the new album by rock-meets-hip-hop trio N.E.R.D. For months, digital-music services have been touting albums for $9.99 to entice more people to buy online. But Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music Store has been charging $16.99 for "Fly or Die," while Roxio Inc.'s Napster service sells the 12-song collection for $13.99. Both prices are higher than the $13.49 that Amazon.com charges for the CD itself. The same pricing shifts are showing up on albums by a growing slate of artists, from Shakira to Bob Dylan.
Unburdened by manufacturing and distribution costs, online music was supposed to usher in a new era of inexpensive, easy-to-access music for consumers. In many cases, buying music online is still cheaper than shopping for CDs at retail outlets. But just a year after iTunes debuted with its 99-cent songs and mostly $9.99 albums, that affordable and straightforward pricing structure is already under pressure.
― (Jon L), Sunday, 11 April 2004 07:16 (twenty-two years ago)
isn't 750,000 new jobs in seven months pretty bad though? don't we need something like 125,000-150,000 new jobs each month just to break even employment-wise?
― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Sunday, 11 April 2004 18:28 (twenty-two years ago)