This article was published on September 16, 2010

British digital music downloads pass 500 million mark


British digital music downloads pass 500 million mark

Reuters is reporting that Britain has just passed the 500-million mark for digital music downloads, with figures suggesting that 2010 will be another record year for music downloads, according to the Official Charts Company (OCC).

With nearly 70 legal music download services, a number higher than any other country, consumers are now starting to embrace digital downloads over physical purchases, even when music industry analysts note that music piracy is damaging artists and their music.

The OCC published data on Thursday showing that by the end of August 2010, 102 million legal had been registered with rough estimates suggesting a total of 170 million by the end of the year. These figures are up from 150 million in 2009 and 110 million in 2008.

According to the OCC, Britiain’s favourite track of the year thus far is Owl City’s “Fireflies” which has sold more than 600,000 copies with the Black-Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling,” being the biggest selling download and the first to sell a million copies since the official digital sales began in 2004.

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