For the first time, digital music revenue will surpass physical sales in the U.S. according to a study by Strategy Analytics. Streaming revenue from Pandora, Spotify and others, is on track to grow 4X as fast as downloads, ending 2012 at $413 million for streaming and $2.2 billion in download income. Physical sales are expected to fall another 9% this year.
Global digital music income is not expected to surpass physical until 2015, according to the study.
"Streaming services will take over as the leading revenue growth engine for the music industry in 2012, generating an extra $311 million—$8 million more than downloads at $303 million," Ed Barton, director of digital media for Strategy Analytics told ars.
