Music sales in the United States hit a new high
in 2012 powered by demand for digital downloads, according to figures
released Friday by industry tracker Nielsen.
The overall number of purchases -- music
videos, single tracks, or albums -- topped 1.66 billion in a 3.1 percent
climb from a record set in the year 2011, according to Nielsen senior
vice president David Bakula.
The gain was "driven by digital music sales, which continue be a key growth element within the market," Bakula said.
Sales of digital albums jumped 14.1 percent and track sales were up 5.1 percent.
However, physical mediums still accounted for
the bulk of business despite slipping 12.8 percent from the prior year,
Nielsen reported.
Compact disks continued to exit the music
stage, with sales dropping 13 percent. A retro trend back toward vinyl
albums was evidenced by a 17.7 percent surge in sales of music in that
old-school format.
"The big artist stories of the year are Adele and Taylor Swift," said Bakula.
Singer Adele's album, "21," is the first
album ever to be the top seller of the year for two consecutive years,
according to Nielsen.
Swift's album "Red" sold more than 3.1
million copies in 10 weeks, debuting with the highest weekly sales of
any title since 2002, Bakula said.
© 2013 AFP
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© 2013 AFP
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