Streaming Music Revenues Up 40% Globally in 2012
On-demand services like Spotify and We7 will generate £696m for the global music industry in 2012 - a rise of 40%, new research has suggested.
It means streaming music is the fastest-growing sector of the industry, overtaking downloads, which are due to see an increase of 8.5% this year.
CDs and vinyl still dominate the industry, accounting for 61% of all music sold worldwide.
But sales of physical products dropped by 12% globally, and 30% in the UK.
The research was carried out by industry watcher Strategy Analytics, which noted a marked contraction in the UK music market during the first six months of 2012.
Total spending on music will fall by £190m, or 16%, in the UK this year it predicted, compared to 2.6% globally.