Nothing seems to stop the decline of the French record market. For the eighth consecutive year, the figures are down: at MIDEM, the Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique (SNEP) announced a further fall in turnover of -5.9% on last year.
Record sales fell by -8.9% in value compared with 2009. After -15% in 2008 and -3.2% in 2009, the market has thus seen a further ebb. While 2009 had been marked by a Michael Jackson effect (the star's death causing a surge in sales of his catalogue), nothing saved 2010.
The only satisfaction is the double-digit growth of digital, which now accounts for 16% of sales. Its turnover is up +14.1% to 88.1 million euros. In all, 35 million tracks were downloaded (+25%) and 4 million whole albums (+35%).