Music download sales fell by 20.5% globally in 2017 according to the IFPI, while in the US specifically, they fell by a further 27% in the first half of this year. So it’s interesting to see some download-focused services are bucking the trend. Beatport, for example, which says that its download sales were up by 7% in the US in the first half of 2018, as well as up 12% in the UK and 5% in Germany.
“Beatport is very healthy and profitable and has been for some time now,” CEO Robb McDaniels told MBW, pointing to the specific needs of the dance store’s audience as the reason why download sales are growing. “For most professional DJs today, downloading high-quality audio and taking on it on their drives to their shows is still their preferred way of doing the job. There’re number of issues with streaming music into venues. Obviously, as a professional DJ, you can’t suffer from or deal with interruptions. And, in terms of the quality of the music, you have to have that CD quality – or wav-quality – file for the bigger shows.”
With 60% of Beatport’s 35 million annual visitors considering themselves to be DJs, it’s no surprise that the company is bucking those industry trends – although its plans for 2019 include the launch of a subscription service (for downloads) aimed at DJs.
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