U2 perform at the King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels . Mark Mulligan, a music and digital media analyst at Forrester Research , said in an interview that "at a time where we're asking if digital is a replacement for the CD , as the CD was for vinyl, we should be starting to see a hockey-stick growth in download sales. Instead, we're seeing a curve resembling that of a niche technology." Every September, the Apple iPod is redesigned. Last year saw the release of the iPod Nano 5th generation, bringing a video camera and a large range of colours to the Nano for the first time. But as Apple again prepares to unveil a redesigned product, the company has released their quarterly sales figures—and revealed that they have sold only 9m iPods for the quarter to June—the lowest number of sales since 2006, leading industry anylists to ponder whether the world's most successful music device is in decline. Such a drop in sales is not a problem for Apple, since the iPhone 4 and the iPad are selling in high numbers. But the number of people buying digital music players are concerning the music industry. Charles Arthur, technology editor of The Guardian , wrote that the decline in sales of MP3 players was a "problem" for record companies, saying that "digital music sales are only growing as fast as those of Apple's devices – and as the stand-alone digital music player starts to die off, people may lose interest in buying songs from digital stores. The music industry had looked to the iPod to drive people to buy music in download form, whether from Apple's iTunes music store, eMusic, Napster or from newer competitors such as Amazon ." Mark Mulligan, a music and digital media analyst at Forrester Research , said in an interview that "at a time where we're asking if digital is a replacement for the CD , as the CD was for vinyl, we should be starting to see a hockey-stick growth in download sales. Instead, we're seeing a curve resembling that of a niche technology." Alex Jacob, a spokesperson for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry , which represents the worldwide music industry, agreed that there had been a fall in digital sales of music. "The digital download market is still growing," they said. "But the percentage is less than a few years ago, though it's now coming from a higher base." Figures released earlier this year, Arthur wrote, "show that while CD sales fell by 12.7\%, losing $1.6bn (£1bn)in value, digital downloads only grew by 9.2\%, gaining less than $400m in value." Nick Farrell, a TechEYE journalist, stated that the reason for the decline in music sales could be attributed to record companies' continued reliance on Steve Jobs , CEO of Apple, saying that they had considered him the "industry's saviour", and by having this mindset had forgotten "that the iPod is only for those who want their music on the run. What they should have been doing is working out how to get high quality music onto other formats, perhaps even HiFi before the iPlod fad died out." The iTunes store now sells television shows and films, and the company has recently launced iBooks , a new e-book store. The App Store is hugely successful, with Apple earning $410m in two years soley from Apps, sales of which they get 30\%. In two years, 5bn apps have been downloaded—while in seven years, 10bn songs have been purchased. Mulligan thinks that there is a reason for this—the quality of apps simply does not match up to a piece of music. "You can download a song from iTunes to your iPhone or iPad, but at the moment music in that form doesn't play to the strengths of the device. Just playing a track isn't enough." 300px|The most recent incarnation of the iPod Nano. While digital music sales have been decreasing, the iTunes store now sells television shows and films, and the company has recently launced iBooks, a new e-book store. The App Store is hugely successful, with Apple earning $ 410m in two years soley from Apps, sales of which they get 30\%. Adam Liversage, a spokesperson of the British Phonographic Industry , which represents the major UK record labels, notes that the rise of streaming services such as Spotify may be a culprit in the fall in music sales. Revenues from such companies added up to $800m in 2009. Arthur feels that "again, it doesn't make up for the fall in CD sales, but increasingly it looks like nothing ever will; that the record business's richest years are behind it. Yet there are still rays of hope. If Apple – and every other mobile phone maker – are moving to an app-based economy, where you pay to download games or timetables, why shouldn't recording artists do the same?" Well, apparently they are. British singer Peter Gabriel has released a 'Full Moon Club' app, which is updated every month with a new song. Arthur also notes that "the Canadian rock band Rush has an app, and the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails , led by Trent Reznor – who has been critical of the music industry for bureaucracy and inertia – released the band's first app in April 2009." It is thought that such a system will be an effective method to reduce online piracy —"apps tend to be tied to a particular handset or buyer, making them more difficult to pirate than a CD", he says—and in the music industry, piracy is a very big problem. In 2008, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry estimated that 95\% of downloads were illegitimate. If musicians can increase sales and decrease piracy, Robert says, it can only be a good thing.
 perform at the , . Mark Mulligan, a music and digital media analyst at , said in an interview that "at a time where we're asking if digital is a replacement for the , as the CD was for vinyl, we should be starting to see a hockey-stick growth in download sales. Instead, we're seeing a curve resembling that of a niche technology." Every September, the Apple is redesigned. Last year saw the release of the 5th generation, bringing a video camera and a large range of colours to the Nano for the first time. But as Apple again prepares to unveil a redesigned product, the company has released their quarterly sales figures—and revealed that they have sold only 9m iPods for the quarter to June—the lowest number of sales since 2006, leading industry anylists to ponder whether the world's most successful music device is in decline. Such a drop in sales is not a problem for Apple, since the and the are selling in high numbers. But the number of people buying digital music players are concerning the music industry. Charles Arthur, technology editor of , wrote that the decline in sales of MP3 players was a "problem" for record companies, saying that "digital music sales are only growing as fast as those of Apple's devices – and as the stand-alone digital music player starts to die off, people may lose interest in buying songs from digital stores. The music industry had looked to the iPod to drive people to buy music in download form, whether from Apple's music store, , or from newer competitors such as ." Mark Mulligan, a music and digital media analyst at , said in an interview that "at a time where we're asking if digital is a replacement for the , as the CD was for vinyl, we should be starting to see a hockey-stick growth in download sales. Instead, we're seeing a curve resembling that of a niche technology." Alex Jacob, a spokesperson for the , which represents the worldwide music industry, agreed that there had been a fall in digital sales of music. "The digital download market is still growing," they said. "But the percentage is less than a few years ago, though it's now coming from a higher base." Figures released earlier this year, Arthur wrote, "show that while CD sales fell by 12.7\%, losing $1.6bn (£1bn)in value, digital downloads only grew by 9.2\%, gaining less than $400m in value." Nick Farrell, a journalist, stated that the reason for the decline in music sales could be attributed to record companies' continued reliance on , CEO of Apple, saying that they had considered him the "industry's saviour", and by having this mindset had forgotten "that the iPod is only for those who want their music on the run. What they should have been doing is working out how to get high quality music onto other formats, perhaps even HiFi before the iPlod fad died out." The iTunes store now sells television shows and films, and the company has recently launced , a new store. The is hugely successful, with Apple earning $410m in two years soley from Apps, sales of which they get 30\%. In two years, 5bn apps have been downloaded—while in seven years, 10bn songs have been purchased. Mulligan thinks that there is a reason for this—the quality of apps simply does not match up to a piece of music. "You can download a song from iTunes to your iPhone or iPad, but at the moment music in that form doesn't play to the strengths of the device. Just playing a track isn't enough." 300px|The most recent incarnation of the iPod Nano. While digital music sales have been decreasing, the now sells television shows and films, and the company has recently launced , a new store. The is hugely successful, with Apple earning $ 410m in two years soley from Apps, sales of which they get 30\%. Adam Liversage, a spokesperson of the , which represents the major UK record labels, notes that the rise of streaming services such as may be a culprit in the fall in music sales. Revenues from such companies added up to $800m in 2009. Arthur feels that "again, it doesn't make up for the fall in CD sales, but increasingly it looks like nothing ever will; that the record business's richest years are behind it. Yet there are still rays of hope. If Apple – and every other mobile phone maker – are moving to an app-based economy, where you pay to download games or timetables, why shouldn't recording artists do the same?" Well, apparently they are. British singer has released a 'Full Moon Club' app, which is updated every month with a new song. Arthur also notes that "the Canadian rock band Rush has an app, and the industrial rock band , led by – who has been critical of the music industry for bureaucracy and inertia – released the band's first app in April 2009." It is thought that such a system will be an effective method to reduce —"apps tend to be tied to a particular handset or buyer, making them more difficult to pirate than a CD", he says—and in the music industry, piracy is a very big problem. In 2008, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry estimated that 95\% of downloads were illegitimate. If musicians can increase sales and decrease piracy, Robert says, it can only be a good thing.
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U2
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King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels
,
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Forrester Research
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CD
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iPod
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iPod Nano
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iPhone 4 and the iPad
and the
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The Guardian
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iTunes
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eMusic, Napster
,
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Amazon
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Forrester Research
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CD
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International Federation of the Phonographic Industry
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TechEYE
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Steve Jobs
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iBooks
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e-book
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App Store
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$410m in two years soley from Apps, sales of which they get 30\%. In two years, 5bn apps have been downloaded—while in seven years, 10bn songs have been purchased. Mulligan thinks that there is a reason for this—the quality of apps simply does not match up to a piece of music. "You can download a song from iTunes to your iPhone or iPad, but at the moment music in that form doesn't play to the strengths of the device. Just playing a track isn't enough." 300px|The most recent incarnation of the iPod Nano. While digital music sales have been decreasing, the iTunes store now sells television shows and films, and the company has recently launced iBooks, a new e-book store. The App Store is hugely successful, with Apple earning $
$410m in two years soley from Apps, sales of which they get 30\%. In two years, 5bn apps have been downloaded—while in seven years, 10bn songs have been purchased. Mulligan thinks that there is a reason for this—the quality of apps simply does not match up to a piece of music. "You can download a song from iTunes to your iPhone or iPad, but at the moment music in that form doesn't play to the strengths of the device. Just playing a track isn't enough." 300px|The most recent incarnation of the iPod Nano. While digital music sales have been decreasing, the now sells television shows and films, and the company has recently launced , a new store. The is hugely successful, with Apple earning $
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British Phonographic Industry
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Spotify
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Peter Gabriel
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Nine Inch Nails
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Trent Reznor
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online piracy