MP3 Fastest-Selling Format Of All Time, Ditching DRM Key To Future
Here’s an interesting statistic for you - 75% of all MP3 players sold in the UK are mobile phones. Now, this may seem a little misleading when you consider that 90% of mobile phones on the market can play back MP3 files but it does mask the fact that the digital music format is the most successful of all time. According to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) over 32 million MP3 compatible devices were sold in the last twelve months, with around 24 million of these being mobiles. Compare this to 8 million CD player sales and it seems pretty clear where people see the future. ERA chairman Russel Coultart confirmed the success of the format: “Never in the history of the music business have we seen a format take off like this before. There is now no doubt that MP3 is the fastest-growing music format of all time, faster than vinyl, cassette or CD.” The ERA also predicts that UK music downloads will exceed 160million by the end of 2008 and cites one of the reasons for these fast-growing sales as the availability of cheaper album downloads from companies like Play.com and Amazon. Album download sales were up by 76% from the beginning of 2007 to the beginning of 2008, an increase that’s worth around £4.5m. However, Coultart confirms the main reason as the abolition of DRM and with major players like iTunes finally waking up it seems likely that 2009 will be even bigger. “We have said for a long time that open standards are the way forward for permanent downloads. It is no coincidence that now the DRM shackles are coming off, more retailers are entering the market.” - Paul Lester [ERA] ETA MP3 DRM
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Original post by nafiz