Local repertoire hits new highs to dominate world music market

IFPI publishes 200-page Recording Industry in Numbers 2001

London, September 6, 2001 - The international recording industry is producing more national repertoire than ever before, with seven out of every 10 records sold worldwide carrying music by local artists. New data released by IFPI today, shows recordings by domestic artists and acts signed to local music labels have risen from 58% to 68% of sales between 1991 and 2000.

A decade of growth in local music across all regions, except Africa and the Middle East, is one of the key findings of IFPI's Recording Industry in Numbers 2001, published today by the trade organisation of the international recording industry.

The Recording Industry in Numbers contains 200 pages of analysis, information and comment on 76 markets across all of the world's regions, including analysis by repertoire, sales channel, price point, genre and consumer age band.

This year's eighth edition also includes, for the first time: a comprehensive summary of key music market trends over the decade; commentary and analysis on the world's top 20 music markets; and an enhanced Appendix section containing CD player statistics and a timeline of events in the industry.

Jay Berman, Chairman and CEO of IFPI, said: "The recording industry in the past decade has emerged as a major investor in local culture worldwide. The industry continues to develop creative talent in all regions and countries of the world, and it is contributing more than ever to the success of local artists and to the development of national music cultures."

The Recording Industry in Numbers also shows:

• The success story of the CD, with sales up 150% over the decade. Sales have increased every year since the format was first introduced in 1983, including in 2000 when annual CD sales hit 2.5 billion.
  
  
• Cassettes accounted for more than half of all music sales ten years ago. Now less than one in four recordings sold worldwide is a cassette. Singles sales stayed roughly unchanged (as a share the total) over the decade.
  
  
• The UK comes out on top in terms of per capita consumption - with an average of four record purchases a year per person - followed by Denmark, USA, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, Iceland, Australia and Japan.
  
  
• In 2000, Britney Spears, Santana and the Beatles featured in more national top ten album charts than any other artists (in 19, 18 and 16 countries, respectively).
  
  
• Rap, hip-hop and other forms of urban music are the fastest-rising music genres in major markets. In the USA and the UK (ranked 1 and 3 worldwide) rock and heavy metal accounted for one in four record sales in 2000, but the share of rap and hip-hop rose to 13% in the USA and doubled to 4% in the UK.