Music Sales Slump

The German recorded music market took a tumble in 2012, with revenues falling 3.2 percent to $1.84 billion.

Although that’s nowhere near as bad as in the UK, where an Enders Analysis report published March 26 says music sales fell 10 percent to $818 million, the German market will be disappointed as the previous year’s numbers indicated that the downturn had been halted.

In 2011, revenues actually went up 0.1 percent to $2.14 billion.

“Unfortunately, the growth in the new digital business segments could not catch up to the losses of the physical record market,” said Association of the German Music Industry (BVMI) chairman Prof. Dieter Gorny. “With a revenue share of nearly 80 percent, the physical market still is the cornerstone of the German music industry.”

Last year’s digital income was $376 million, accounting for 20.5 percent of music sales.

Streaming had a 12.1 percent share of digital revenues and 5 percent of total music revenues.

In the UK, the findings of market researcher Enders Analysis suggest the plight of HMV is having a significant impact on sales.

With over 100 shops already shuttered, a large number of regular CD-buyers have simply stopped buying records, without switching to any other method of purchasing music.

Enders says music sales fell by 10 percent. CD sales fell by 21 percent to $818 million, while digital sales grew only 6 percent to $688 million.