Party is over for US music downloads

Rapid growth in digital music downloads has ground to a halt in the US, suggesting the MP3 market is reaching saturation point. According to figures from Nielsen, the research group, 630 million tracks were downloaded in the first half of 2010 in the US, flat on the same period last year. Downloads were increasing at 13 per cent a year in 2009 and 28 per cent in 2008. Record labels had been banking on revenue growth from digital platforms to counterbalance falling CD sales. But even as downloads plateau, other forms of digital distribution, such as streaming, are failing to gain mass appeal while unlawful filesharing is largely undiminished. Jean Littolff, managing director of Nielsen Music, said many consumers had restocked their music collection after moving from CDs to MP3 players, leaving little extra impetus to music sales other than the latest releases.