More doom and gloom for the US music industry after the latest sales figures were released by the Recording Industry Association of America last week. According to the stats shipments of music products to retail outlets in the first half of 2003 declined nearly 10% through, which translates to a 9% drop in dollar value compared with the same period last year.
Needless to say illegal downloads and CD copying were blamed for the news. RIAA President Cary Sherman: "While there are other factors contributing to the decline of music shipments in 2003, including the fact that there are significantly fewer music retail locations, illegal 'file-sharing' continues to adversely impact the sale of physical CDs. We believe the use of these illegal peer-to-peer services is hurting the music industry's efforts to distribute music online in the way consumers demand."
Offering a more positive spin Sherman continued: "The number of ways fans can get music online in legal, consumer-friendly and high-quality sites is growing each week. In addition, we look forward to exciting releases from new and established artists in the second half of the year." Among the releases expected to boost sales are those from Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Mary J Blige, David Bowie, Missy Elliott, Alicia Keys, Iggy Pop, Seal and Sting.
Interestingly the sales of singles in the same period shot up considerably – in contrast to sales figures over here – again reaffirming the theory that more frequent EP style releases may be the way forward for the US record industry in the internet age.