Some of the top executives from the global recording music industry stated on March 18, 2014 that they remain positive about growth in the industry, despite declining sales in 2013. The figures for 2013 showed an annual drop of almost 4% in revenues to $15 billion and this has been blamed mostly on the Japanese market.
The decline in numbers was also noticed in 2012, when the music industry was significantly affected by illegal downloads and music piracy. The recording industry registered the first revenue increases since 1999 to $16.5 billion. The latest annual report created by the London-based industry federation IFPI said that the majority of the decline in 2013 was due to a 16.7% revenue slump in Japan.
In addition to that, Japan is making a belated transition from CDs to digital delivery through the latest technology. The report added that global revenues fell by 0.1 %, excluding Japan. The president and CEO of Sony Music Entertainment, Edgar Berger said, “There can be bumps in the future, no question, but it doesn’t take anything away from the general direction the music industry is heading which is more digital, more services, more consumer choice and more consumer satisfaction with the services offered and probably more consumption”.
Berger went on to say that it is absolutely going to be a growing business.
Photo Credits: Guardian
