Music Biz Falls Off the Scale
Tue Mar 26, 3:58 AM ET
By Erich Boehm
LONDON (Variety) - Analysts fear the worldwide music market plummeted 10% in value to $33 billion last year -- the worst drop in record business history.
Official stats are due April 16 from the industry's trade group the Intl. Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), but the estimated scale of the downturn has alarmed observers.
Much of the blame is laid on pirated music downloaded from the Internet, especially in the United States, as well as more consumers burning copies of CDs. The IFPI reckons that for every CD purchased, another is burned.
