In 2011? Yes, according to trade group BPI, which just released the stat as part of its 'Annual Yearbook.' Actually, the 58.5 percent figure is for 2010 and also includes some fringe physical formats, though CDs easily dominate this category. “Taken as a whole, 58.5 percent of music buyers bought physical formats only in 2010, down from 65.8 percent in 2009," the BPI shared.
Looks like the CD is a slow-leaking balloon. But on the flip side, 17.2 percent only purchased digital formats, up from12.4 percent in 2009. And, 24.3 percent of buyers mixed-and-matched their formats.
Then again, these are only music buyers—and legal ones at that. The breakdowns were pulled from weekly surveys conducted by the Official Charts Company (OCC).
What else? The British digital market got started a little later than the US, though aggregated digital music purchases just surpassed 1 billion pounds. Specifically, the figure is 1.014 billion ($1.64 billion). And, the group noted that one in five British consumers made at least one digital music purchase in 2010.
