CD Market Collapsing In Canada

The worldwide recording industry has taken hits from digital formats and downloading, but Canada is apparently facing the largest recent decline in physical music sales in the world, according to figures released by the Canadian Record Industry Association.

CD and music DVD sales in the country fell 35 percent during the first quarter of the year, from $105.6 million in 2006 to $68.7 million in 2007, the Toronto Star reported.

Physical sales have not been replaced by legal digital downloads, apparently because of a commonly held belief that file sharing and unpaid downloading is legal in the country. Canada also lacks the resources to enforce digital piracy laws, the Star said.