The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has said that digital music sales rose 40 per cent to $2.9-billion (U.S.) over last year but that the increase does not cover the losses suffered by declining CD sales. According to the IFPI illegal downloads outnumber the number of tracks legally purchased by a factor of 20-to-1. This Globe and Mail article points out that revenues from legal downloads was a mere $380-million in 2004. That sounds like a healthy increase to me, and I'm sure that the cost of selling those tracks are much less than the cost of selling CDs! If the music industry had not gouged us all for so long perhaps they'd find a little more sympathy from consumers!
