The Guardian: We Brits buy more CDs than any other country
That subject line should also mention that’s average number of CDs per head of population. Is this something to feel proud about? Given recent news that digital downloads aren’t necessarily more ecologically sound than CD buying (I still find that hard to believe), perhaps I should be. I’ll also admit to an enduring love of physical formats. It’s an interesting article: apparently the average price of a CD fell below £9 for the first time last year; also UK music revenues fell 5% between 2001 and 2005, which doesn’t seem that bad, given the diversity of other media increasingly available and may as much reflect a tightening of margins rather than a death rattle for the industry as a whole. Anyway here’s the full list:
CD sales per person in 2006
Britain 2.7
US 2.1
Norway 2.1
Ireland 1.9
Australia 1.9
Denmark 1.8
Belgium 1.7
Sweden 1.7
Switzerland 1.7
Japan 1.5
New Zealand 1.5
Canada 1.5
It would be interesting to know the average number of MP3s purchased for those countries as well, I’d guess Japan and the US would top that list.
Link: Guardian article
