Digital music sales match physical sales for the first time

15 April 2015, 14:05 | Written by Laurence Day

(News)

(Pharrell Williams) (Taylor Swift) (Pharrell)

Although iTunes and similar ilk have seemed omnipresent for years, it's only now that the sales have actually hit the same level as CDs and vinyl.

The IFPI have today announced figures proving that the balance- as many expected - is shifting further towards digital formats.

The format rose 6.9%, and was worth $6.9 billion (£4.6 billion) in 2014, making up about 46% of global music sales. Physical formats also accounted for 46% of the market; rights for "performances, films and advertisements" take up the final 8%.

However, despite the digital sales increasing, profits for global sales dippeed 0.4% overall - the first time ever there has been two consecutive years of decline. iTunes sales fell 8%.

The IFPI also said that Pharrell's "Happy" was the most popular individual single, and Taylor Swift the most popular artist. The Frozen OST topped sales charts for the album category (though Taylor Swift's 1989 was the highest single-artist record).

Vinyl sales have gone up once more, increasing almost 55% on the year before. Vinyl now accounts for about 2% of global sales; this has prompted the UK to launch its first dedicated vinyl chart.

Although there's an overall decline in sales, it varies massively depending on which local market you analyse: USA rose 2.1%, the UK dropped 2.8%, and France fell further at 3.4%. A range of countries actually saw downloads overtake physical sales, not just meet them.

Streaming has increased massively too, up 39% (worth $1.57 billion (£1.06 billion)). The IFPI says that only around 40% of ther 100 million service users use the paid subscriptions though. Edgar Berger, Sony Music's chief executive, said that the industry "has shifted from an ownership model to access. I've not met anyone who can see beyond streaming. So this looks like a final destination".

Check out Pharrell's "Happy" video below.