US sales of CDs fell almost 20% from 449.2 million in 2007 to 360.6 million in 2008, according to Nielsen Co.'s SoundScan service, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Unfortunately for the music industry, "CDs remain the most profitable and common medium for recorded music sales, accounting for nearly 85% of album sales." The WSJ says:
US album sales including digital downloads fell 14% for the year, while factoring in individual song downloads, sales were off 8.5%.
Finally, the story says:
Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group remained the biggest player, with 31.5% of the market. Sony Corp.'s Sony BMG Music Entertainment was No. 2, with 25.3%. Both those companies' market shares were roughly equal to their 2007 levels. Warner Music Group Corp. gained more than a percentage point to reach a 21.4% share, while No. 4 EMI Group Ltd., amid numerous financial and operational problems, saw its share of the market fall below 9%.
