Digital music sales climbing

2011 was the music industry’s best sales year for 8 years in a row, spurred on by digital and vinyl sales according to the IFPI.

The IFPI “Recording Industry in Numbers” report noted that revenue from physical media fell by 8.7 percent, compared with 13.8 percent in 2010. This is despite strong vinyl sales, which were up by nearly up nearly 29 percent.

Digital revenue grew by 8 percent, higher than the 5.6 percent growth in 2010. Digital track sales numbered 3.7 billion, 19 percent higher than the previous year.

Australia grew digital sales by 60 percent, eclipsing the 10 percent growth in the U.K. and 8 percent growth in the U.S.

Digital sales accounted for 31 percent of the total music market revenue, which sat at $5.3 billion.

Despite this growth, the global music industry revenue fell by 3 percent compared to 2010. However, the report notes that, “2011 marked the least negative result in global recorded music sales since 2004, when revenues were flat.”

Read the full story at: Boy Genius Report.