LONDON - Digital music sales were robust in 2006 bringing in $2 billion, but were still unable to stem the tide as far as the dip in CD sales were concerned, according to a report by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).
The report, titled 2007 Digital Music Report, said that by 2010 digital music sales would account for at least 25 percent of all music sales worldwide. Around 795 million tracks were downloaded in 2006 from an estimated 500 legal music services available in 40 countries on the Internet, the report added.
This figure was 89 percent more than the music downloads at a comparable time in 2005. However the IFPI called for immediate action on illegal file-sharing sites, which are harmful to the music industry as a whole. Despite these record sales, there was a 4 percent dip in overall music sales globally, the report said.
"The pace of transformation in our industry is breathtaking, but at the moment the Holy Grail is evading us," said IFPI chairman John Kennedy. "I would like to be announcing that a fall in CD sales is being compensated for by an equal or greater increase in online and mobile revenues. But that is not yet happening on a global basis."
The report also said that the number of tracks available for download on the Internet hit a record 4 million last year. Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store continued to be the most popular online destination for music downloads although consumers embraced many other alternatives, the report added.
Commenting on the illegal file trading, Mr Kennedy said that Internet service providers (ISPs) must take some responsibility. "ISPs are the gatekeepers of the web, who unquestionably have the technical means to deal with copyright infringement, if only they would take responsibility for doing so," he lamented.
