Peter Jamieson, BPI executive chairman commented:
“Successful artists don’t just appear out of nowhere. They require sustained and significant investment, and the people who make that investment are record companies.”
He added,
“But, just as in any business, if record companies can’t get a fair return on their investment, they will be forced to cut back their investment.”
According to the annual survey legitimate sales of CD albums increased by 1% between 2001 and 2002, while the sale of pirate CDs jumped 60% and the sale of CDs for burning music increased by 32% to 176m units last year. More people than ever are burning CDs at home, and the BPI reckons the figures for this could overtake shop bought CDs by the end of 2004.
The retail sale of albums was still buoyant, up 7% on the previous year, but the singles market was down. Overall, according to the report, legitimates sales of recorded music fell by 13%.
The British music industry's response to the problem of internet piracy is the subject of the latest edition of the OUT-LAW Magazine.
