… to the most recent technology shift. Just in time to get clobbered by the next one…
I have to admit I’m getting a big kick out of the two items that landed in my news feed this evening.
First, Billboard has reported that…
For the third time this year — and only the fourth time ever — the year-to-date total sales of digital albums have exceeded those of CDs.
How long did that take, about ten years?
Let’s see, when did iTunes start selling downloads. April 28, 2003. So, yeah, just a little over ten years.
That’s important, because it tells us how long it takes for something that seems unlikely one day to become “mainstream” the next. It’s the statistical flip side of “it can’t happen here.”
Which is significant, because of the insights offered in another piece that was published today. David Ross’s Nekst.biz posted an interview with Billboard’s Glenn Peoples that goes into considerable detail about how music online is already shifting from downloads to streaming:
…half of the country listens to Internet radio on a regular basis (monthly), so that’s mainstream behavior, but there is still room for growth…The streaming model is set to grow for the foreseeable decade.
There is much more to the analysis than that (obviously). But that might be all you need to know.
The first item tells us how much has changed in the past decade. The second item tells us now much is going to change in the coming decade.
All of the above was written while listening my Bill Frisell channel on Pandora. Which is now playing Pat Metheny.
The Celestial Jukebox abounds. Along with newsfeed irony.
Life is good.