The Brits can be ferocious music connoisseurs, but their spending power is now getting beaten by the Germans. According to a 2010 review just released by the IFPI, Germany is now the third-ranked music market in the world, slotting behind Japanand the US. The UK is perched at an unfamiliar fourth-place.
The move is happening despite a surge in British digital sales, perhaps a symbolic situation. During 2010, digital sales in the UK climbed an aggressive 19.6 percent, though broader physical drops of 19.2 percent dragged overall revenues by 11 percent. That tosses any notion of a digital inflection point out the window, as digital gains in the UK are getting totally overshadowed by CD sales drops.
Sound familiar? Well it describes the global market perfectly, a stage that features the tired combination of meaningful digital gains and overbearing physical drops. That is particularly acute in the US, where digital growth has actually slowed to a molasses-like 1.2 percent according to the IFPI. Still, the behemoth US accounts for half of all digital global revenues, and is likely a bellwether for future global digital sales trajectories worldwide.
Others would beg to differ. Currently, European digital growth surpasses 21.6 percent overall, thanks in no small part to players like Spotify.
There were a few other positive signs. Performance royalties climbed 4.6 percent worldwide, enough to boost label revenues to $749 million. That includes a 27.9 percent boom in the US, and an 18.5 gain in Germany.
The move is happening despite a surge in British digital sales, perhaps a symbolic situation. During 2010, digital sales in the UK climbed an aggressive 19.6 percent, though broader physical drops of 19.2 percent dragged overall revenues by 11 percent. That tosses any notion of a digital inflection point out the window, as digital gains in the UK are getting totally overshadowed by CD sales drops.
Sound familiar? Well it describes the global market perfectly, a stage that features the tired combination of meaningful digital gains and overbearing physical drops. That is particularly acute in the US, where digital growth has actually slowed to a molasses-like 1.2 percent according to the IFPI. Still, the behemoth US accounts for half of all digital global revenues, and is likely a bellwether for future global digital sales trajectories worldwide.
Others would beg to differ. Currently, European digital growth surpasses 21.6 percent overall, thanks in no small part to players like Spotify.
There were a few other positive signs. Performance royalties climbed 4.6 percent worldwide, enough to boost label revenues to $749 million. That includes a 27.9 percent boom in the US, and an 18.5 gain in Germany.
