AS DIGITAL music hogs the headlines, the humble CD has made a comeback at the cash register. However, music retailers may still be feeling the pinch. Figures released by the Australian Recording Industry Association yesterday show an increase of almost 8 per cent in the volume of wholesale physical music products, such as CDs, in 2006 compared with 2005, despite a decrease of more than 5 per cent in overall revenue.
“People continue to be interested in music, although the average value of CD sales is continuing to decline,” Mr Peach said. “At a time when the CD seems to be dying, we are selling more units than ever before, although [the retailers] are needing to sell more and more CDs to earn less money.”
While Australians are buying more albums on CD, sales of CD singles have almost halved. While wholesale CD sales in 2006 totalled more than $421 million, wholesale digital music sales totalled $27.8 million. Track downloads, videos and music ring tones made up almost 50 per cent of the overall digital market in 2006.
Photo [Left]: Reach for the stars … Isabella Previtera, 8, and her sister Adrianna, 5, of Greenacre, browsing through the CDs at a record shop in Leichhardt yesterday.
Lisa Wiltse
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