Music Purchases Increase For 2nd Straight Year In A Row

Music buyers have been gobbling up an increasing amount of music for the second straight year in a row after years of decreasing sales. A new study by NPD has found that while CD sales have fallen off in recent years the number of digital and CD sales increased by 4% from 2010 through 2011.

That same study found that the number of people buying music also increased by two percent to 78 million Americans.

CD sales fell but digital music downloads continued to increase, specifically in terms of iTunes and Amazon buyers who bought 14 percent more digital songs then they had the previous year for a total of 45 million song purchases.

The study also found that users are spending six percent more on music then they did in the previous year with the average spend per user estimated at $49.

It’s also believed that the number of songs being acquired through P2p file sharing services has decreased to 13 percent of downloaders receiving their music for free, down from 19 percent during the p2p industry’s peak in 2006.

With various file sharing websites shutting their doors or being forced to close in recent months the number of illegally downloaded songs is expected to fall further in 2012.

The biggest winners in 2011 were likely online radio programs such as Spotify and IHeartRadio which grew from 29 percent in 2009 to 43 percent of Internet users in 2011.

In the meantime industry experts are still attempting to find a happy medium that pleases users of the digital age while turning a healthy profit.

Do you find yourself recently downloading purchased songs more than you download illegal copies of music?