I started reading the Globe & Mail story Death knell sounds for CDs because I’m keenly interested in music and because it confirms what has been more-or-less evident about music for at least a couple of years. From the story:
The compact disc has less than three years left in its reign atop the music industry in Canada, with new data on music sales indicating the download will officially be king by 2011.
Physical music distribution, defined largely by the sale of compact discs, is eroding faster than expected, while online music is growing quickly, says a report published Wednesday by PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP.
The consulting firm’s annual report on the global media and entertainment industry suggests physical music sales in Canada will fall to $275-million (U.S.) in 2011, from about $572-million last year.
(This won’t, of course, stop the recording industry for blaming the decline on pirating, instead of recognizing that this is a format change.)
I buy the equivalent of a dozen or so albums a month, primarily through e-Music, and so far this year have only purchased three physical CDs. The only reason I bought those is that I was in Europe, and they were recordings not yet available in Canada. I don’t want CDs; I want downloads, which I happily pay for.
But it wasn’t just the information of music that struck me. Further down in the story, there’s this:
Newspapers in Canada are projected to grow annually by 1.8 per cent over the next five years, to $3.8-billion in 2012. The television advertising market is expected to expand by 3.6 per cent a year, to $3.4-billion in 2012, while TV subscription revenue will be worth $6-billion by then, up from $4.6-billion last year.
Growth of just under two per cent a year over five years is nothing to sneeze at, and the projections suggest the continuing (financial) domination of the media space by newspapers. What is really interesting, though:
Internet advertising is the fastest-growing segment in Canada, and is expected to rise an average of 21.1 per cent a year to $3.4-billion in 2012.
Basically, the internet catches TV and almost catches newspapers in the near future. Of course, some of that ad revenue will flow to existing media. But given how quickly the internet evolves, it’s no sure thing that the media space of the ‘net will mirror that in the physical world. Google has proven that.
Currently playing in iTunes: Novo Fado Da Severa by EnFado (a digital download)
Tags: advertising, business, music, newspapers
