Shrinking Singles Market Bucked by All-Time High in Album Shipments. Album volume in second quarter grows 12% to reach annual high of 228m units. Total value stable with a minimal increase of 0.1%. Singles market shrinks further to annual sales of 41m units Albums market reaches all time high.
A 12% rise in unit sales lifted the album market to record levels of more than 228 million units. While the perennially popular Now! series provided the bestseller of the quarter (Now! 54), other quarter 2 releases which featured in the Top 10 bestselling list included White Stripes’ critically acclaimed ‘Elephant’ and the fourth studio album from Welsh rockers Stereophonics’ ‘You Gotta Go There To Come Back’.
CD albums, with an average retail price of £9.79, have never been cheaper in the UK, and this continued downward pressure on prices meant value lagged behind unit growth and the further decline in the singles market meant overall value recorded modest growth of only 0.1% in the second quarter.
Prospects for the third quarter remain upbeat with a release schedule including new albums from 2002 BRIT Award winners Dido and Sting, as well as current bestsellers The Darkness and Kings of Leon. The annual announcement of the Mercury Music Prize shortlist focused media attention on the healthy state of rising British musical talent, with nine debuts among the 12 shortlisted albums.
Singles market continues to contract
Annual sales of the traditional singles formats shrank further to 41 million units. The reasons for this fall have been widely reported; shrinking price differentials between singles and albums, competition from other entertainment products and illegal downloading have all played their part.
While the download market for singles is still in its infancy the record industry has been exploring ways to deliver tracks via alternative formats and labels have trialled a growing number of online initiatives.
In recognition of the growing demand for legitimate downloads, an official download chart is scheduled for launch later this autumn with plans to incorporate the data in the official singles chart some time next year.
Alternative revenue streams
Record companies are looking to capitalise upon the increasing opportunities provided by new technology and supplement traditional sales with alternative revenue streams. Recent events such as the BPI’s New Media Marketing, Film Synchronisation Seminar and the Mobile Music Briefing (in conjunction with PPL and the Mobile Entertainment Forum) highlight the opportunities for labels to earn incremental revenue and boost catalogue sales.
Mobile devices have the advantage of in-built payment mechanisms and key revenue markets for music rights owners include ringtones and interactive voice services.
BPI Executive Chairman Peter Jamieson said:
"I am excited by the BPI's increasing activities to help its members embrace new technological opportunities. This is in tandem with our plans to introduce the download chart which will become a pivotal feature of tomorrow's music successes."
Source:BPI
