RIAA report: mobile music sales decline 28%

The Recording Industry Association of America's annual report for 2010 paints a dire picture for mobile music sales, showing a decline of 28 percent to 221 million units in 2010 down from 306 million units in 2009.  

RiAA attributes the decline to a sharp fall in ringtone sales, which dropped 41 percent. In addition, ringback sales declined 26 percent and full track mobile downloads dropped 23 percent. RIAA's mobile music category includes master ringtones, ringbacks, music videos and full-length downloads as well as other items downloaded to a mobile phone.

The news isn't all that surprising considering the growth in Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes multimedia storefront, which in 2010 accounted for 70 percent of all premium music downloads in the U.S., according to data from market research firm NPD Group.

For more:
- read this article

Related Articles:
Recording industry reverses course, opposes FM radio in mobile phones
Mobile music evolves, leaving operators in the dust