Canadian music sales slide in first quarter

04/27/2007 4:14 AM, Reuters
Etan Vlessing

Canada's retail music sales fell 35% during the first quarter of 2007, continuing a near decade-long decline attributed largely to Internet file-swapping, an industry trade group reported Thursday.

The major Canadian labels, represented by the Canadian Recording Industry Assn. (CRIA), sold C$68.7 million ($57.5 million) worth of CDs, music DVDs and other physical music formats, down from C$105.6 million a year earlier.

In all, the majors and Canadian indie labels sold 7.1 million units during the period, compared with 10.2 million in 2006, down 30% year-to-year, the CRIA reported.

Digital music sales are rising in Canada, but not enough to stem a decline in the sale of product at the retail level.

The sharp 2007 fall-off in sales follows a 12% sales decline for full-year 2006.

"We've experienced sizable short-term drops before, but nothing compares to the drastic numbers we're seeing so far this year," CRIA president Graham Henderson said.

His organization is currently lobbying the federal government to introduce new copyright legislation to curtail Internet file-swapping and counterfeit CDs and DVDs.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter