2008 Saw A Steep Decline For CD Customers

The past 5-7 years its been pretty obvious that the digital world is the future of the music industry. The only question left to answer, is how long it will take before it would become the main source, or even only source of purchasing music? According to the latest NPD research, not too far off.

The biggest stat that jumps out is that 17 million people stopped buying CD’s last year. If you’re a fan of the compact disc this is bad news. Of course if you’re ready to see digital take over then you should be glad to hear that digital purchases increased by 8 million dollars. On top of that social network music listening rose from 15-19 percent.

If you’re looking for the demographic who’s making this transition, then you’ll want to thank (or blame) teenagers, and those over 50. While I’m not surprised at the teenagers, it’s odd to think that AARP members are part of the CD decline. Those around or over 50 control most of the wealth in the country, and you’d think they’re the least tech savvy.

As the transition continues, it’s going to be very interesting to see how the recording industry responds. These past few years, most have caught on even if they don’t want to. They’re hesitant to get into digital because of the individual selling of songs and not albums. Which of course hurts revenue.