IFPI releases comprehensive yearbook on the global market for recorded music

September 9, 2003

IFPI today publishes its annual yearbook The Recording Industry in Numbers (RIN) 2003 – the most authoritative and comprehensive single source of information on the global recording industry.

RIN 2003, in its tenth year of publication, contains statistics, data, trends and analyses for 71 national music markets around the world. It breaks down the world’s most popular genres, shows the top ten album charts in each country, ranks the world’s largest markets and charts changing patterns in retailing and music consumption.

Highlights of RIN 2003 include:

Market share information
IFPI has produced regional and global market share figures based on wholly or majority owned content for 2002. Global market share figures for 2002 were as follows: BMG –11.1%, EMI – 12.0%, Sony – 14.1%, Warner – 11.9%, Universal – 25.9%, Independents – 25%. RIN also charts the major record companies’ top ten selling albums globally in 2002.

Genre trends
A detailed look at trends in popular genres in seven countries (USA, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and Austria) highlights the revival of rock music, largely at the expense of dance. Rock has seen increases in four out of six countries where it is categorised, with the percentage in Germany (16%) remaining the same as 2001. Dance music fell in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and UK, stayed the same in Ireland (7%) and was not separately defined in Austria or the USA.

Domestic repertoire trends, showing national shares accounted for by local repertoire from 1998 to 2002. Markets are classified into five categories, from steady growth through to steady fall. Canada, Hong Kong, France, New Zealand, Oman and Qatar for example, are countries where there has been sustained growth in domestic repertoire for at least five years.

A top ten of the year-end best selling albums that featured in most sales charts around the world (1).
The most popular artists internationally are reflected in the albums that featured in the most national top ten sales charts around the world. Eminem The Eminem Show, and Shakira Laundry Service figured in the top ten sales charts in 19 different territories. Celine Dion A New Day Has Come featured in 12 national sales charts while Elvis Presley ELV1S 30 #1 Hits and Red Hot Chili Peppers By The Way featured in the sales charts in 10 territories. Other titles appearing in the most sales charts were Pink M!ssundaztood, Robbie Williams Escapology, Anastacia Freak Of Nature, Avril Lavigne Let Go, Las Ketchup Hijas Del Tomate and U2 The Best Of 1990 – 2000.

RIN 2003 also lists the top ten selling albums from the world’s top five record companies. The companies’ number ones are: Avril Lavigne Let Go (BMG), Norah Jones Come Away With Me (EMI), Celine Dion A New Day Has Come, Eminem The Eminem Show (Universal) and Red Hot Chili Peppers By The Way.

Growth in music video sales
Music video continues to see strong growth, driven by the increased penetration of DVD players and a strong flow of new releases: between them, the five major record companies released over 1,300 individual titles in 2002. Sales of music videos rose by 12% in unit terms, and accounted for 3.7% of music sales, up from 3.1% in 2001.

For the first time RIN includes a chart of the top ten best selling full length music videos from the major companies. Number ones are Dave Matthews Band Live At Folson Field Boulder Colorado (BMG), Paul McCartney Back In the U.S. (EMI), Pink Floyd The Wall (Sony), Linkin Park Frat Party at the Panake Festival (Warner) and U2 The Best of 1990 – 2000 (Universal).

Jay Berman, Chairman and CEO of IFPI, said: “The Recording Industry in Numbers is the most complete source of information on today’s music industry. It contains a huge amount of useful facts, figures, trends and analyses which helps build a complete picture of the state of the record business today.”

RIN also details individual country data including sales of music in all formats, piracy figures, national sales award levels, repertoire breakdown, genre splits and, where available, sales by age group. New to this year’s edition are expanded world and regional overviews, and a history of world record sales from 1969 to 2002. Consumers are also increasingly buying physical product online: the share of albums sold over the net increased for example from 4% to 6% in the UK, and in Germany from 6% to 9%.

The book’s appendices include taxes on sound recordings, a breakdown of music players (CD and DVD), levels of internet connectivity and broadband take-up, mobile phone penetration, per capita sales, and chart commissioning and compiling bodies around the world.

RIN draws on a range of sources including IFPI’s network of national recording industry associations in over 46 countries, specialist market research companies, the World Factbook, and the International Monetary Fund.

The Recording Industry In Numbers, is also available online to members and subscribers via IFPI’s Market Research Online (MRO) facility (www.ifpi.org/ifpi-MRO).

For further information contact Julie Harari, Keith Jopling or Adrian Strain at IFPI on tel:
+44 (0)20 7878 7900. To request copies of RIN or to gain access to the MRO contact:
Nicola Craven at nicola.craven@ifpi.org.

(1) A total of 36 territories report the top 10 best selling albums to IFPI.