IPPI Report: Universal Dominates Sales. CD Buyers Aging.

According to Digital Music News, "Global recording industry trade group IFPI has released its latest annual report, with Universal Music showing a dominant market share. According to the report, Universal grabbed a 25.5 percent share of the market last year, a percentage that has increased in 2005. Meanwhile, Sony BMG grabbed a 21.5 percent share, followed by EMI at 13.4 percent and Warner at 11.3 percent."

"Meanwhile, the independent sector continued to show remarkable strength with a 28.4 percent piece of the global pie…"

"…The group recently started tracking revenue from performance royalties, a rapidly growing sector. Royalties topped $493 million in 2004, a 4.5 percent increase over 2003 and a 19 percent jump over figures from five years ago….Elsewhere, the IFPI continued to trumpet a recent increase in global paid downloads, which reached 180 million units for the first half of this year. And overall, CD buyers appear to be getting older, with 55 percent of discs purchased by those over the age of 30, a steady increase over figures from 5 years ago."