As well as providing detailed historical and forecast data on the online and overall music markets for 16 Western European markets, the report also analyses the causes of declining revenues for the music industry. It acknowledges that a broader view must be taken to understand and address the change in consumer behaviour.

It is easy to point the finger at piracy but factors like the gradual erosion of music dedicated shelf space in big retailers like HMV and Virgin and its replacement with DVD's, book, games and mobile phones cannot be ignored. Seen in this light the fact that the decline in physical music sales corresponds to the boom in DVD sales begins to look less like a coincidence and more like a cause.

Dan Cryan, Screen Digest analyst and author of the report comments: "Online music has been booming. However, online sales alone are not going to be enough to halt the decline in music sales. The music industry needs to make the most of new delivery platforms. We believe with the right strategy - including mobile and online – that the worst might be over by 2010. The industry must adopt a broader approach to selling music, looking beyond the traditional single and album."


Covered in the report:

• Broadband connections by country 2002 to 2010
• Total music market 2001 to 2010
• Total online music spending by country 2003 to 2010
• Comparison of consumer spending on music and video 2000 to 2006
• Major publisher market shares
• Single track and album downloads and revenues 2003 to 2010
• Subscription music users and revenues 2004 to 2010
• Threats and opportunities
• Analysis of the traditional and online music value chains
• Profiles of pan European service operators