U.S. digital music downloads hit 7.7 million outselling cd singles

Billboard magazine is
reporting that legitimate digital downloads appear to be a success. Though some
say it is not a fair comparison to point to the single CD as a gauge.
The reason being given is they really don't release many singles on CD. On the
other hand, fans can choose, as we know, from as many as 500,000 songs for 99
cents on some services. In the same timeframe as the digital counterpart, CD
singles sold about 4 million copies.

In the week ending 26 October, 857,000 songs were sold over the internet - compared to just 170,000 in record shops, Billboard said. But the best-selling CD single is still outstripping the most popular download, the magazine reported. The top CD single, I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe, sold 6,900 copies in one week, compared with 4,700 for the biggest online track, OutKast's Hey Ya!, according to Billboard. The digital sales had a "symbolic significance" because they marked the music industry's move to digital operations, Sean Ryan, vice president of music at RealNetworks, said. "Selling individual songs as an offline strategy wasn't working all that well, but online it can be a huge hit," he said.

EMI Music executive Phil Quartararo said he was
happy with the trend but was not yet attributing too much significance to it.

"Any way we can drive a consumer to purchase music
as opposed to taking music is a win for the industry," he said

Another reason for lackluster single sales, at
least in part, could be pricing. I saw at Borders Books music section a single
of Will Smiths "Nod Ya Head" from Men in Black II being offered for $ 9.95.

Source: bbc.co.uk