Internet blamed for 5% dip in global music sales in 2001

Recorded music sales worldwide fell to $33.7 billion. Sales of CD albums fell globally by 5%, and there were declines in sales of singles (down 16%) and cassettes (down 10%).

Commenting on the figures, Jay Berman, Chairman and CEO of IFPI, said:

"In 2001 the international recording industry was caught in a perfect storm, buffeted by the combined effects of mass copying and piracy, competition from other products and economic downturn. The industry's problems reflect no fall in the popularity of recorded music: rather, they reflect the fact that the commercial value of music is being widely devalued by mass copying and piracy."

Berman added that the industry is fighting back with new business models, payment systems and anti-copying measures on CDs.

Sales in France rose by 10% and in the UK by 5%, significantly bucking the downward trend, largely through strong sales of their respective domestic artists. US sales fell by 4.5%. Sales in Denmark fell by 14.8%.

Three of the world's top five markets - the US, Japan and Germany - attribute a significant part of their sharp drop in recorded music sales in 2001 to the proliferation of free music and piracy.

The IFPI acknowledged that part of the decline in sales could be attributed to the global economic downturn, particular in the last quarter of the year.

However, it also said that in Germany, 18% of 10,000 consumers surveyed said that burning CDs resulted in them buying less music. In the US, nearly 70% of people who downloaded music burned the songs on to a CD-R disc, while 35% of people downloading more than 20 songs per month said they now buy less music as a result.