Life Is But A Stream

And of that, Pandora and Spotify streams increased 46 percent for the year to date, compared with 2013. At the same time, music sales at Apple’s iTunes Store have fallen 13 percent to 14 percent worldwide since the first of the year, and that follows a dropoff in 2013, according to sources familiar with the matter who talked to the Wall Street Journal.

The diving download numbers explain why Apple bought the $10-per-month streaming subscription service Beats Music earlier this year. It was part of a $3 billion acquisition that included Beats Electronics and its headphones.

The Journal’s source says Apple is rebuilding Beats Music and plans to relaunch it next year as part of iTunes. Some record company execs fear the industry could sink like a stone after several years of relative stability should download sales decline faster than streaming growth – and to maintain growth, they have to convince the listening public to pony up for subscriptions.

U.S. revenue from downloads of singles and albums fell 11 percent and 14 percent, respectively, in the first half of 2014, according to the RIAA. A 28 percent jump in revenue from streaming services helped overall digital revenue increase slightly to $42.2 billion in the first six months of the year.