As reported by Billboard, 2013 was the first year that saw a decrease in overall digital music sales since the iTunes store opened in the U.S. in 2001. According to Nielsen Soundscan, track sales fell 5.7% from 1.34 to 1.26 billion units, while album sales fell 0.1% from 117.7 to 117.6 million units, equalling an overall 8.4% decline from 316 million units in 2012 to 289.4 million units in 2013. At the moment, the drop is being attributed to a growing demand for streaming services.
Despite this, digital sales in Rap and R&B grew by 1.2% in 2013, from 50.1 to 50.7 million total units sold, which is encouraging.
For those still functioning in the physical realm, the Compact Disc has continued to decline, falling 14.5% from 193.4 to 165.4 million units (down from 193.4 million in 2012). One the other hand, vinyl sales only continue to grow, selling 6 million units in 2013 as compared to 2012's 4.55 million.
[VIA HHNM]