New York - The global entertainment and media business will grow at an average annual rate of 4.9% over the next several years, rising from $81.2 billion in 2006 to $103.3 billion in 2011, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Growth is expected to be fastest in the Asia-Pacific region, which will see an even higher 6.8% annual growth rate.

Digital music and digital cinema in the U.S. are expected to experience significant growth during the period, with digital music overtaking physical distribution in 2010.

Total spending of $9.65 billion on CDs and LPs in 2006 is expected to drop to $4.5 billion in 2011, while digital sales will reach $6.56 billion in 2011, up from $1.86 billion in 2006. Mobile music services will contribute to this growth, with full-track downloads expected to bring $1.58 billion in 2011.

Meanwhile, digital cinema will spur the U.S. movie box office take to $11.7 billion by 2011, eclipsing 2004's previous record of $9.53 billion.

The wide-ranging report also predicts that total spending on Web advertising, combined with fees paid by U.S. consumers to access content online, will rise at a 10.7% average annual growth rate, from $47.2 billion in 2006 to $78.4 billion by 2011.

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