The corporate music industry has increased its digital revenues by a massive 940% since 2004, says a new report.
But, “Overall, global music sales in the first half of 2009 were down by 12% (physical and digital sales) and full year figures are likely to see a similar trend,” says the latest IFPI puff-piece.
IFPI boss John Kennedy says he hopes the Three Strikes and your Off The Net scheme proposed by Hollywood and the major record labels will survive the UK parliamentary process.
“Digital piracy remains a huge barrier to market growth and is causing a steady erosion of investment in local music,” he says in , going on >>>
Governments, led by France, South Korea, Taiwan, the UK and New Zealand led the way in 2009 by adopting or proposing legislation to tackle piracy. It is vital these efforts are seen through to their conclusion and followed by other governments in 2010.
He neglects to mention the “legislation” is part of a massive, multi-billion-dollar, last ditch effort on the parts of Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music, and Disney, News Corp, Time Warner, Viacom, NBC Universal and Sony Pictures, to gain control of how, and by whom, ‘product’ is handled and distributed online.
Against the interests of their electorates, the governments cited by Kennedy are in bed with the corporate entertainment cartels, striving to introduce legislation which would make their administrations copyright agents, and local ISPs copyright cops, working against their own customers.
But despite non-stop reports of doom and gloom and claims the major labels are being “devastated” by “criminal” file sharers, global digital music trade revenues reached a staggering US$4.2 billion, up 12% in 2009, admits the IFPI (International Federation of Phonographic Industry).
“More than a quarter of all recorded music industry revenues worldwide are now coming from digital channels, as music companies license music in partnership with ISPs and mobile operators, subscription services, streaming sites and hundreds of download stores,” it says, going on:
“Sales of music downloads, the dominant revenue stream in digital music, are seeing steady growth. Single track download sales increased by an estimated 10%, while digital albums rose an estimated 20% in 2009.”
However, “Despite this progress, piracy is the major barrier to growth of the legitimate digital music sector and is causing severe damage to local music industries around the world”, says the report.
January 21st, 2010 at 11:58 am
So if this is true, why is any legislation needed, three strikes, levies or otherwise ?
If this is fact, then ‘devastation by filesharers’ must be false and no threats or taxes are necessary.
Which is it ?
” However, “Despite this progress, piracy is the major barrier to growth of the legitimate digital music sector and is causing severe damage to local music industries around the world”, says the report. ”
Riiight. 940% growth is a sure indicator of the destruction of sharing.
January 21st, 2010 at 12:26 pm
@ Dredd:
It’d be interesting to know in dollar terms how much of that trickled slowly down to musicians.
Cheers!
January 21st, 2010 at 8:04 pm
It will be even more interesting to see if those artists that cry for the need for an internet tax to compensate for the damage from sharing comment. This simply underscores what we’ve been saying for years. Fans will buy, no other legal recourse is necessary. If your stuff is good, nothing else is really necessary. All this 3 strikes and levy crap is just that .. crap, and a way of clamping ‘radio’ like controls on the net.
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:01 pm
What an incredible surprise.
Not one comment from our vocal ‘artists’.
// yes, facetious.
January 24th, 2010 at 7:09 pm
guys, have you actually read through the IFPI report or the BPI report? A lot ( great percentage) is based upon the licensing deals that they’ve done over the past 18 months.
January 24th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
e.g. deals that aren’t going to be profitable .. like, I’m not going to gamble against them. (if you’ll forgive me and let me add). Labels are going to have to let go of some of the ‘control’ that they have and license to the masses. (IMO). Copyright is a figment of their imagination. They will need to put everyone on the playing field if they want to see sustainable growth (again IMO). What is ‘up’ in digital sales is a far cry from what was once ‘up’ in physical sales. A dilapidated and outdated myth really. The future is bright, but, it’s not going to be about ’sales’ (IMO… once again). Blinding really. and should be.
January 24th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
” Labels are going to have to let go of some of the ‘control’ that they have and license to the masses. (IMO). Copyright is a figment of their imagination. They will need to put everyone on the playing field if they want to see sustainable growth (again IMO). ”
This is true, but that’s not what they are focusing on doing, and you know that. Instead of doing anything resembling what you mention, they are working feverishly to create even more restrictions and control. Supporting 3 strikes and pushing levies moves forward THEIR agenda, and does nothing to clear the figment out of their imagination. Please, PLEASE stop suggesting that a levy of any kind is of any benefit to anyone but the labels, and the FAC ?? … they need to stop helping the labels as well, or the future won’t be as bright as it should be, except for the executives.
January 25th, 2010 at 9:33 am
@Indianna #6:
“What is ‘up’ in digital sales is a far cry from what was once ‘up’ in physical sales. A dilapidated and outdated myth really.”
Please explain what you are saying here.
Is it you are in agreement with the “physical sales were once amazing” as the labels have said? Or is that the myth you are referring to?
My issue:
Physical sales when CD’s really took off were artificially high, as people replaced worn cassettes and scratched vinyl. No, I haven’t the demographics to back this up, but I could do the research myself to prove it. If I did though I know I would be wasting my time, as the labels would make up some other BS to cry out “foul” on part of the consumer and “loss of sales” from the “glory days.”
The same happened with tapes, people replaced damaged media with the newer media. That’s just what happens and it does not mean “wow, our material is so great, look at these numbers.”
I’d really love to see a demographic study showing sales from 1959 – 2009. 50 years, showing each year the albums sold, not in total, but broken out by media type (cassettes, vinyl, CD, 8-track) and by year released. When CD’s came out in the late 80’s and sales took off in the early 90’s, was that mostly new music (not likely) or 70’s music released on CD? Or 20’s music? Classical music?
Having all that data, you could easily set to rest the claims of the labels and “high sales killed by the internet from the new releases of artists.”
Again, not saying YOU feel the above is true, just asking, as I wrote in the very beginning.
~Robert