Music sales worlwide boosted by DVD growth

LONDON, UK (IFPI announcement) - Music sales worldwide nudged up slightly for the first time in four years, the International Federation of Phonographic Industry said Thursday.

The London-based group said unit sales of recorded music expanded by 1.7 percent in unit terms for the first six months of 2004, with sales of music video soaring 20.2 percent from a year ago largely due to strong demand of DVDs.

The IFPI pointed out, however, it does not include the number of legitimate digital music downloads in its officials figures, but added that there should be a strong future for the online music market.

There are some signs that the world's markets are beginning to recover... however, markets continue to be hampered by the dual effects of commercial and internet piracy, said IFPI chairman Jay Berman.
The group compiles data from more than 1,450 record companies worldwide, and found the U.S. market continues to lead the industry and saw the strongest recovery during the first half of this year.