MARCH 17, 2008 • Proponents of digital download sales of video games will take heart in a recent NPD Group report that downloads account for 33% of all music sales. The research firm estimates that the number of online music buyers grew from 28 million in 2007 to 36 million in 2008.

Impact: Anyone that has watched the dramatic decline in retail distribution of music may be surprised that downloads account for only 33% of music sales. Unfortunately for the music industry, the increase in download sales has come nowhere close to matching the decline in CD sales. The same study showed that the number of U.S. purchasers of CDs declined by 17 million in 2008, with a total decline of 13 million overall music buyers.