Spotify payments are ridiculously bad for artists, but are Spotify streams killing iTunes downloads? That probably depends on the artist in question, and in many cases the answer is yes. But on the aggregate, the early answer seems to be that both formats are rising—and paid downloads aren't getting cannibalized one bit.
Here's a look at US-based revenue data shared by the RIAA, specifically for the years 2004-2011. Paid download revenues are on the top, subscription streaming revenues are on the bottom, and units are in millions of dollars.
Steven Corn (BFM Digital) said:
I've done our own analysis here at BFM. I can't find any evidence that streaming services affect download sales at all. Not only are these revenue sources additional revenue, I consider streaming services to be an essential component for discovery of new music.
Here's a look at US-based revenue data shared by the RIAA, specifically for the years 2004-2011. Paid download revenues are on the top, subscription streaming revenues are on the bottom, and units are in millions of dollars.
Steven Corn (BFM Digital) said:
I've done our own analysis here at BFM. I can't find any evidence that streaming services affect download sales at all. Not only are these revenue sources additional revenue, I consider streaming services to be an essential component for discovery of new music.
