At the end of 2013 iTunes reported that for the first time in history their single track and album sales finished the year lower than previous years. According to DigitalTrends.com single track sales went down from 1.34 billion units in 2012 to 1.26 billion units in 2013 – a decline of nearly 6%. However, digital album sales did not take as much of a hit, but still declined, going down 0.1%.
With the success of singles such as Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky”, Lorde’s “Royals”, and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” along with albums like “Random Access Memories”, “Pure Heroine”, Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” and Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP 2”, to name a few, it’s hard to believe that the numbers aren’t higher. 2013 wasn’t a bad year for music by any means, matter of fact, many artist released outstanding albums and single tracks from across the board.
Then why the decrease in sales?
Streaming. Industry executives have been accusing the growing popularity of SoundCloud, Spotify, iTunes Radio, Pandora and services alike. These programs being available on mobile devices and portable tablets as well as desktops, laptops and even next generation gaming systems has more or less defeated the purpose of purchasing music in the minds of the consumer.
It’s believed that the revenue generated from various streaming services could possibly offset the decline in iTunes’ digital music sales. Thought, SoundScan hasn’t yet reported its annual streaming numbers so we can’t be sure.
This article was written by: Follow @TyGuyMusic
[Sources: Billboard.com // DigitalTrends.com]
Photo Credit: DigitalTrends.com
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