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Music sales off 0.6 percent in 2005: group

Posted on: Friday, 31 March 2006, 19:35 CST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Despite healthy increases in digital music revenues in 2005, overall U.S. music industry sales fell 0.6 percent to $12.27 billion in 2005, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Music industry sales have eased every year beginning in 2000 except for 2004, when sales rose 4.1 percent, the trade group said, citing competition from other media and piracy as factors undermining the health of the music industry.

The overall approximate retail value of the industry fell to $12.27 billion in 2005 from $12.34 billion in 2004.

The 2005 figures include some categories not collected in 2004, such as mobile, digital subscription, digital music video and kiosk sales.

Overall physical units, including CDs, DVD videos, cassettes and other items shipped to retail fell by 7.6 percent, when compared with 2004.

Meanwhile, sales of digital singles grew 163 percent to 366.9 million units in 2005 and full-length digital album shipments grew 198.5 percent to 13.6 million.

Overall album shipments, including physical and digital albums, fell 3.9 percent to 794.7 million in 2005, the RIAA said.

Mobile formats such as ringtones, ringbacks and other content shipped 170 million units, which represents $421.6 million in retail value, the trade group said.

The RIAA represents major labels such as Vivendi Universal EAUG.PA>> Warner Music Group Corp., EMI Group Plc and Sony BMG, a joint venture of Sony Corp. and Bertelsmann AG.

Source: REUTERS

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