Rumor Mill

Digi music growth projections

September 17, 2010

DON’T CANCEL YOUR SUBSCRIPTION TO THE RESURRECTION: Nonetheless, the number of paid digital music users worldwide is expected to nearly double over the next five years, from 832 million now to north of 1.5 billion in 2014, according to a report from IE Market Research. At that point, digital music retail revenues are predicted to hit $32.5 billion, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 37.1% from $7.8 billion in 2009. The forecast for the North America has paid users increasing from 105 million now to 227 million in five years, when digital music retail revenues for the territory will reach $11.86 billion. According to IE, "the greatest growth in the global digital music industry will happen through subscriptions to both online and mobile music channels." In North America, the number of users downloading music via mobile phones is expected to grow from 51.9 million in 2009 to 83.1 million in 2014. (9/17a)