Hard times for the music business.

• Position: GRAPH: TECHNOLOGY

A lot has changed in the music world since the Beatles took America by storm, including the way we buy and listen to songs [see articles, p. 18 and p. 21]. In the Beatles' heyday, vinyl records were king. By the 1980s, cassette tapes had replaced records, and by the 1990s, most recorded music was sold on CDs. it was that format that led music sates to an all-time high in 1999. Now, industry analysts say, digital downloads are slowly pushing CDs to the curb. But can digital sates compete with free streaming and illegal downloads? Only time will tell.

ANALYZE THE GRAPH

(1) In what year did the music industry begin tracking digital sales, according to this graph?

a 2000

b 2002

c 2004

d 2006

(2) In 2011, digital sales made up about --of total global recorded music sales.

a one eighth

b one third

c one half

d three fourths

(3) Digital music sales in 2009 were--those in 2006.

a double

b triple

c slightly lower than

d the same as

(4) Physical music sales--.

a have declined steadily since 1999.

b were higher in 2011 than digital, music sales.

c both a and b

d neither a nor b

(5) Together, the U.S., Japan, and Germany accounted for about two thirds of global, music sales in 2011. You can estimate that they had about --in sales.

a $3 billion

b $6 billion

c $10 billion

d $14 billion

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

(1) Why do you think digital, sates have failed to make up for the drop in physical, music sates since the late 1990s? Do you think digital sales will eventually bring global recorded music revenues back to...