SoundScan Offers Sign Of Hope Amidst Decline

• 
  Overall Consumer Music Purchase Decisions are up 19% including all Album & individual Digital Track sales.
• Consumers have made more than 46 million additional music purchase decisions this year than last year.
  • 288 million individual Digital Tracks vs. 242 million at this time last year.
  • 99 million Albums vs. 119 million at the same time last year.
• Overall Album purchases, including Track Equivalent Albums (total # of Digital track purchases divided by 10, in order to provide a like-for-like comparison with traditional Album purchases), are down 10% this year.
  • 
    2007: 118 million
  • 2006: 131 million
• Sales of physical CDs have decreased 20% over last year.
  • 2007: 89 million
  • 2006: 112 million
• CD sales account for 90% of Traditional Album sales (an Album purchased in its entirety, whether physical or digital).
• Sales of Digital Albums have increased 100% over last year. Digital Album sales account for 10% of Traditional Album sales.
• Sales of Individual Digital Tracks have increased 54% over last year.

Data From Neilson SoundScan is through week ending 3-18-2007.