Music Albums Hit 8 Year Low in 2005 Because of Downloads

by Anton Shilov

[ 01/05/2006 | 07:37 AM ]

<%BANNER[article_nw]%>U.S. music album sales last year slid to their lowest level since 1996, squelching any hopes that the recording industry’s long downward spiral may have bottomed out, according to sales data issued on Wednesday, Reuters news agency reports.

Tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan, which measures point-of-sale purchases across the United States, said total album sales – including current and catalog titles – fell 7.2% from 2004 to 618.9 million units, the lowest since 1996, when they were 616.6 million. The industry counts CDs, cassettes, vinyl records and digital releases as “albums”.

The lackluster demand for records was conditioned by both legal and illegal downloads, rival forms of entertainment such as video games, a lack of breakout musical acts.

Nielsen SoundScan said overall music sales, which includes albums, singles, music videos and digital tracks, jumped 22.7% to just over a billion units in 2005. The rise was fueled by a 194% increase in digital downloads.

• Reuters: Music Album Sales Hit Eight-Year Low in 2005.