Digital sales boost music industry

Cory Bergman January 4th, 2007

I’ve always looked to the music industry as a rough guide of what lies ahead for broadcasting and video. Last year, album sales dropped 4.9 percent while digital downloads jumped 65 percent. The top-selling album for the year sold fewer units than the top-selling albums over the last 15 years. While download sales were spread around to many different artists, the bar for a “hit” has been reduced and the return on investment for a label is smaller. Can anyone say, The Long Tail?