Global digital music market worth $5bn

The global digital music industry is worth over $5 billion in sales, and accounts for over 32 per cent of the global market, according to an analysis of the Italian Music Industry Federation (Fimi) based on data from the Milan Polytechnic, Between Observatory, Nielsen and ComScore.
It said South Korea and the US account for more than 50 per cent of the total, and that there are 20 million songs available on over 500 platforms. In Italy, downloading and streaming represent more than 21 per cent of the music market with a turnover of euro 27.5 million.
The research revealed that mobile internet users downloaded apps and content amounting to 43 per cent of this total in 2011. "At the end of 2011, there were over 21 million smartphones in Italy and 95 million SIMs with more than 48 million users," the survey reported.
According to Nielsen, Italian tablet users are in second place to Americans when it comes to music purchases, accounting for 20 per cent. In 2011, Italians spent euro 500 million on mobile commerce and mobile remote payment, and 80 per cent of Italian internet users are active on social networks, which is the highest average in the world.