A rather interesting video was released on the foreign YouTube channel Captain Gizmo, showing in graphical format the change in the world of music media over the past 50 years. According to the channel, in 1972, the world of music tracks was divided between vinyl records (71.88%), 8-Track cassettes (23.79%) and compact cassettes (4.33%). Until about 1974, 8-Track cassettes were gradually taking away the audience from vinyl records, while compact cassettes showed minimal growth, but already in 1979 the once popular 8-Track gave way to cassettes developed by Philips in 1962.
Already in 1982, the share of music content on 8-Track fell to less than 1%, compact cassettes created by Philips took almost 40% of the market, and CDs began to gain their audience for the first time. But, unfortunately for vinyl, already at the beginning of 93rd compact cassettes took first place in the audio content market, and CD-drives took their first 1% of the audience. Since that moment, cassettes, due to their compactness and sound quality, have steadily occupied 55% of the audio market, and CDs began to “eat off” the share of vinyl records. And in May 1986, CDs created by Philips and Sony prevailed over vinyl, which moved down to third place.
In May 1988, with vinyl falling below 10% and compact cassettes still holding 55% of the market, music videos entered the race. And two years later, CDs, thanks to their 650MB capacity, bypassed compact cassettes, while music videos overpowered vinyl. Further development of the market was very expected – CDs conquered the audience (the production price of the disc was $ 1, and the price of the sold album was $ 17), the share of cassettes, like vinyl at one time, plummeted. In 2001, CDs accounted for 95% of the market, music videos surpassed cassettes, and vinyl remained at 0.4%.
The first noticeable changes in the audio market were only noticed in 2005, when digital downloads, thanks to iTunes, literally took off in the top, and downloads of ringtones brought in $ 4 billion in profit. Content streaming was also born around the same time. In 2011, digital downloads surpassed CD-ROMs in popularity, and in 2013, “blanks” left behind streaming (against the background, vinyl is gaining popularity again). And in December 2014, music streaming took the podium – it currently owns 84.6% of the music market, while vinyl records (7.1%) are in second place, digital downloads took 3.7%, and CD disks managed to retain 2.6%.
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
