The recorded music industry passed a significant milestone in 2016. Digital delivery-downloads and streaming combined - accounted for 50% of the worldwide industry's US$15.7 billion in revenues last year. Perhaps more significant was the rapid growth of streaming as the preferred delivery method, up 60.4% over the previous year, while downloads declined by 20.5%. The majority of music lovers are clearly more interested in the instant availability of millions of tracks offered by streaming services rather than owning digital or physical copies of their favourite tunes. Despite the revival of interest in turntables and vinyl records, sales of physical formats (vinyl, CDs, cassettes) declined by 7.6% in 2016, following a 3.9% decline in 2015.
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