A report published by Nielsen in collaboration with Billboard shows that U.S. music sales grew 3.1 percent in 2012 setting a new record for the music industry. . Read More

Los Angeles - Sales of single-track digital music downloads in the U.S. fell 0.2% in the first half of 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan data, Music Week reports.

The main contributing factor is thought to be the introduction of “variable pricing” for downloads, where some new release tracks now retail for $1.29, up from the previously established standard of 99 cents.

On a brighter note, U.S. sales of full-album downloads was up 12.7% in the first half of the year, to 42.2 million units.

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(Music Week)

New York - Digital song sales in the U.S. declined for the first time since 2003 in the first quarter of 2010, signaling a possible leveling off of the market, Billboard reported, citing Nielsen SoundScan sales data. Track sales in the quarter were down nearly 1%, to 312.4 million from 315.4 million in the same period a year ago.

Even when figuring in a calendar adjustment, track sales were down .09% in the first quarter.

Billboard said industry executives blamed the decline in digital song sales to the price [...].

New York - U.S. music purchases were up 2.1% in 2009 to 1.54 billion albums, singles, videos and digital tracks, and digital music now accounts for 40% of total U.S. music purchases, according to Nielsen SoundScan’s year-end report. Overall album sales, which includes albums and track-equivalent albums, were down 8.5%, to 490 million. By contrast, digital album sales grew 16.1%, to 76.4 million, and digital track sales rose 8.3%, to 1.15 billion. Digital album sales accounted for 20% of total album sales in 2009, up from 15% [...].

Los Angeles - More than one billion digital song downloads have been sold so far this year, an increase of 28% from 2007, according to Nielsen SoundScan figures cited by Billboard. SoundScan projects that a total of 1.04 billion digital tracks will have been sold by year’s end. The top digital track of 2008 so far is "Bleeding Love" by Leona Lewis, which has racked up 3.3 million download sales.

Related Links: http://snipurl.com/8wcuw (Billboard)

Los Angeles – Despite a 45% increase in digital sales, overall U.S. music album sales fell 9.5% in 2007, the Associated Press reported, citing data from Nielsen SoundScan. Physical album sales totaled 500.5 million in 2007, down 15% from a year ago; however, when digital tracks are counted in tens, to represent an album’s typical length, album sales dropped 9.5% overall.

The top-selling albums of 2007 were Josh Groban’s "Noel" (3.7 million), Disney’s "High School Musical" soundtrack (2.9 million), and the Eagles’ "Long Road Out of Eden" (2.6 million). [...].

Los Angeles - Global recorded music sales were down for the seventh consecutive year in 2006, when CD and physical sales fell 11% to $17.5 billion, while digital music sales climbed 85% to $2.1 billion, according to data from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an international record label trade group.

"We hoped that the decline in physical sales would be offset by the increase in digital sales, giving us the 'holy grail.' But while digital sales have [...].