A swing to growth in US album sales and surging consumption of music on DVD helped slow the decline in first-half global sales of recorded music, the trade body for the world's largest record companies said on Thursday.
Music sales world-wide fell 1.3 percent to $13.9 billion in first half of 2004, while artists such as Norah Jones and Usher helped boost unit sales by 1.7 percent to 1.22 billion, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry said.
That compares with a 10.7 percent value slide in the first half of 2003 and is the slowest rate of decline in four years, an indication that the industry is having some success convincing people to pay for music online and is tempting consumers with new products such as music videos.
Music video sales grew by more than 20 percent during the first half to account for 7.2 percent of total recorded music volume, more than double the 3.1 percent they represented in 2001. "There are some signs that the world's markets are beginning to recover, boosted by the continued growth of DVD music video, digital sales and added-value releases," IFPI Chairman and Chief Executive Jay Berman said.
"However, markets continue to be hampered by the dual effects of commercial and Internet piracy," he added.
Although the amount of legal music downloading has surged, it is not expected to contribute significantly to global sales figures for years. About 60 percent of the industry's sales come during the second half, and the four major companies - Vivendi's Universal Music, SonyBMG, EMI Group and Warner Music - are betting on more hits from the likes of Britney Spears and U2 to help level off four years of declining sales.
In the United States, which accounts for 40 percent of total volume and is the world's biggest market, sales rebounded from a 12 percent drop in the first half of 2003 to a 3.9 percent increase between January and June 2004.
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