But are we at the bottom yet? Here are the official 2010 numbers, as tallied by Nielsen Soundscan and shared with Digital Music News late Wednesday afternoon. These are US-based figures, and cover the 52-week period ending January 2nd, 2011. All percentages are calculated against 2009 totals.
- Albums, Overall*: 326.2 million units; Down 12.7%
- Albums, Physical**: 240 million; Down 19%.
- Albums, Digital: 86.3 million; Up 13%
- Digital Track Sales: 1.172 billion, Up 1%
- LP/Vinyl Sales: 2.8 million, Up 14%
also...
- Digital formats accounted for 46% of all music purchases in 2010; up from 40% in 2009 and 32% in 2008.
- Digital album sales accounted for 26% of all album purchases in 2010; up from 20% in 2009, 15% in 2008, 10% in 2007 and 5.5% in 2006.
*category includes CDs, LPs, digital albums, cassettes.
**category includes CDs, LPs, cassettes, with CDs accounting for roughly 99% of the total.
