The top 10 music downloads & radio plays in Europe in 2011

"Top ten downloads in Europe 2011:
1. Adele – Someone Like You
2. Adele – Rolling In The Deep
3. Alexandra Stan – Mr Saxobeat
4. Adele – Set Fire To The Rain
5. Example – Changed The Way You Kiss Me
6. DJ Antoine vs Timati feat Kalenna – Welcome To St Tropez
7. Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand
8. Adele – Make You Feel My Love
9. Caro Emerald – A Night Like This
10. Tiesto vs Diplo – C’mon (Catch Em By Surprise)

Top ten radio airplay in Europe 2011:
1. Adele – Rolling In The Deep
2. Adele – Set Fire To The Rain
3. Alexandra Stan – Mr Saxobeat
4. Adele – Someone Like You
5. Caro Emerald – A Night Like This
6. Duck Sauce – Barbra Streisand
7. Example – Changed The Way You Kiss Me
8. Inna – Sun Is Up
9. DJ Antoine vs Timati feat Kalenna – Welcome To St Tropez
10. Alexandra Stan – Get Back"

Source:  Chart by IMPALA, reported by CMU, 8th March 2012

The number of people subscribing to legal music streaming services rose by 65% in 2011

"The number of consumers subscribing to legal music streaming services globally increased by nearly 65 per cent in 2011, according to new IFPI estimates.
Paying subscribers of streaming services hit 13.4 million in the year, according to the IFPI’s new Digital Music Report 2012 – up from 8.2 million in 2010.
Spotify reports it has 2.5 million paying subscribers worldwide, including over 400,000 in the US market since its launch there in July - and that it sees its expansion in the US as a springboard to international markets.
Ken Parks, chief content officer, says: “We were very focused on how Spotify, which had been a European service, would translate to the US. Now, having seen the acceptance in the biggest music market, it gives us a huge degree of confidence and optimism to expand elsewhere.”
Subscription streaming services have caught on "exceptionally well" in certain markets, says the report, particularly in Scandinavia.
In Sweden, says the report, subscription accounted for 84 per cent of digital revenues in the first 11 months of 2011, boosted by its national champion Spotify. Other markets saw sharp growth in subscription revenues, including France which saw an increase of more than 90 per cent in the first 11 months of 2011 (SNEP)."
Source:  Data from the IFPI's Digital Music Report 2012, reported by Music Week, 23rd January 2012
See the full report here

Louis CK made over $1m through a direct-to-fan comedy download

"Sean Parker wonders why any artist would sign with a major label these days. But maybe the better question is why any established artist would do the same. Just outside of the music sphere, the latest direct-to-fan feat comes from Louis C.K., who just grossed $1 million on his self-released stand-up download, Live at the Beacon Theater.  "Yesterday we made a million bucks," C.K. told Jimmy Fallon.          
And it's just been happening, just like that.  "It just goes into my phone like 'bling,' it's crazy.  I've never had one million dollars all at once," C.K. described.  And C.K. didn't have to share a gigantic percentage with a major media company, but he is sharing the proceeds with various charities while rewarding staff with Christmas bonuses.  Production costs, which came out of C.K.'s wallet, were around $250,000 and easily covered.
If you're just tuning into this one, C.K. recently positioned  Live at the Beacon Theater for $5, directly to fans.  The download was straight from his site via Paypal, and totally financed by the comedian.  "They said everyone was going to steal it, so I just wrote a note that said, 'please don't do that,'" C.K. joked.  But seriously, at least 220,000 people (and counting) opted for the low-priced, legal alternative."

Source:  DigitalMusicNews, 22nd December 2011

See the download page here

Megaupload has over 180m registered users

Stats from their site:
Founded in 2005
Employees - 155
Unique Visitors - >50m daily
4% of all internet traffic passes through Megaupload
Unique files stored - >12bn
Registered users - >180m
Corporate Memebership - 87% of the Fortune 500 have accounts with Mega
Source:  Megaupload, retrieved 10th September 2011

Digital sales account for 26% of all UK album sales

"Sales of digital albums have already smashed the 2010 record, selling 21.3 million copies, two months ahead of the year end, new Official Charts Company data released by BPI reveals today.
The news follows the success of Coldplay’s hotly anticipated new album, Mylo Xyloto, which sold more than 80,000 digital copies in week one, breaking the record for the highest number of digital copies to be sold in a first week of release – and becoming the latest album to pass 100,000 downloads. Digital accounted for 40% of the band’s first week album sales.
Digital albums now represent 26.2% share of total album sales, up from 17.5% during 2010, according to the Official Charts Company data. This year, the Top 10 biggest digital albums have all sold more than 100,000 digital copies, including albums by Lady Gaga, Jessie J and Ed Sheeran."

Source:  Press release from BPI, 7th November 2011

Over 2/3 of Mylo Xyloto's US first week sales were downloads

"Coldplay has already pulled impressive, first-week album sales stats. But now, it looks like a monstrously large percentage of those sales were in the form of digital albums, particularly in the US.  We just received a complete first-week breakdown on Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto, and it shows that out of 447,411 total albums sold, more than 300,000 were digital.  Or, more precisely, 302,183, or 67.5% of total, according to first-week album sales tallied by Nielsen Soundscan."
Source:  Digital Music News, 3rd November 2011

Angry Birds has been downloaded 500m times

"Rovio today announced 500 million total downloads of Angry Birds games across various platforms. This remarkable milestone makes Angry Birds one of the most downloaded games in the history of gaming, with no signs of slowing down.
Angry Birds Fans around the world have so far played a total of 200,000 years of Angry Birds, with 300 million minutes of playing time daily. Moreover, more than 266 billion levels of Angry Birds have been played, with 400 billion birds launched into action, and over 44 billion Stars collected in the process."

Source:  Press release from Rovio, 2nd November 2011

The average UK home broadband users downloads 17GB of data each month

"The average home broadband user downloads 17 gigabytes (GB) of data each month, equivalent to streaming 12 hours of high-definition content from the BBC's iPlayer, as data use has increased sevenfold over the past five years, says a new report.
At the same time 97% of UK premises – and 66% of the country – can get a voice signal outdoors from each of the mobile networks O2, Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone, while 73% of premises and 13% of the country can access 3G data signals, according to research by the communications watchdog Ofcom."

Source:  Data from Ofcom, reported by The Guardian, 1st November 2011
Press release here
Full report here

40% of Coldplay's first 3 day UK sales for Mylo Xyloto are from downloads

"Coldplay are on course to score their fifth Official Albums Chart Number 1 this weekend, as well as notching up one of the best-selling opening weeks of any album release this year, according to today’s Official Chart Update.
‘Mylo Xyloto’, Coldplay’s fifth studio album, has kicked off the week to a flying start, racking up sales of over 122,000 in its first three days of sale.  The release is now set to become one of the fastest-selling albums of 2011, with a massive 40% of UK sales to date coming from downloads.  All eyes look set on the British rockers breaking the 200,000 sales barrier by Sunday, a feat this year only accomplished by two other Number 1 albums, Adele’s ‘21’ and Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’.
A positive knock-on effect also appears to be taking shape on Coldplay’s back catalogue, with the band enjoying four additional slots in today’s Top 75; ‘Parachutes’ (49), ‘Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends’ (51), X&Y (55) and ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ (66)."
Source:  Press release from The Official Charts Company, 26th October 2011

Doctor who was the BBC Worldwide's best selling TV programme in 2010

"The top five individual TV series sold internationally by BBC Worldwide in the year to the end of March were Doctor Who series five, the debut series of Sherlock, the 15th and 16th series of Top Gear, and Human Planet.
The Doctor Who franchise made the biggest value leap last year with revenue climbing 49%, thanks to significant growth in the US. BBC Worldwide has seen a 45% increase in DVD and download-to-own sales, with Doctor Who the third-biggest seller in the US iTunes chart behind Mad Men and Glee.
Sales also increased in Europe, moving the revenue mix to 50% from outside the UK. In the previous year 70% of revenues had come from sales of Doctor Who DVDs and merchandise in its home market.
Overall the top TV brands by revenue – when sales of all series and programme titles are combined, not just for a single series – were Top Gear, Doctor Who and Waking the Dead.
BBC Worldwide's Facebook pages for Top Gear and The Stig now have more than 11 million fans, and around 25% of traffic to topgear.com now comes via Facebook."

Source:  The Guardian, 12th July 2011

How affluent Europeans use their mobile phones

Click to enlarge

Source:  Press release from Synovate for the 2011 EMS Survey, 14th March 2011

Note on methodology & sample - "EMS 2011 represents the highest-earning 13% of the population in 20 markets across Western and Central Europe. Refinements to the design of this, the 16th release of EMS, include consumption of media brands via mobile applications and mobile websites. This is the first year that an EMEA-wide set of data, combining results from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has enabled at-a-glance comparisons between markets as diverse as the Czech Republic and Cameroon, mirroring the multi-region planning priorities of many advertisers. From next year, we’ll be including Turkey too."

Soundcloud has 5m users, an increase of 4m in 12 months

"The company just shared some astonishing growth figures with Digital Music News, including a userbase of 5 million. That's a gain of 4 million (ie, 400%) in just one year.    
On top of that, Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary's A-Grade Fund has also stepped into picture with a 'small investment'."

Source:  Digital Music News, 15th June 2011

The web in 60 seconds

Infographic by- Shanghai Web Designers

Source & full data: Go-Gulf.com, June 2011. Sadly the individual stats aren't sourced

Netflix accounts for more than 20% of downstream internet traffic during peak times in the US

"Netflix's roughly 16 million subscribers [update - now 20m] can access streaming content from a variety of devices - XBox 360, iPads, laptops (and that's just in my household). And that adds up to a substantial increase in demand. A recent study has found that Netflix makes up more than 20% of downstream Internet traffic during peak times in the U.S."
Source:  ReadWriteWeb, 21st October 2010

Netflix has more than 20m members in the US

"With more than 20 million members in the United States and Canada, Netflix, Inc. [Nasdaq: NFLX] is the world’s leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows. For $7.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited movies and TV episodes streamed over the Internet to PCs, Macs and TVs. Among the large and expanding base of devices streaming from Netflix are Microsoft’s Xbox 360, Nintendo’s Wii and Sony’s PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, Internet-connected TVs, home theater systems, digital video recorders and Internet video players; Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as Apple TV and Google TV. In all, more than 200 devices that stream from Netflix are available in the U.S. and a growing number are available in Canada."
Source:  Netflix press information, retrieved 31st January 2011

10 billion apps have been downloaded from the iTunes App Store

"Apple® today announced that more than 10 billion apps have been downloaded from its revolutionary App Store℠ by the more than 160 million iPhone®, iPod touch® and iPad™ users worldwide. The 10 billionth app downloaded, Paper Glider, was purchased by Gail Davis of Orpington, Kent, UK. As the winner of the App Store Countdown to 10 Billion Apps, Gail Davis will receive a $10,000 iTunes® Gift Card.
“With more than 10 billion apps downloaded in just two and a half years—a staggering seven billion apps in the last year alone—the App Store has surpassed our wildest dreams,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The App Store has revolutionized how software is created, distributed, discovered and sold. While others try to copy the App Store, it continues to offer developers and customers the most innovative experience on the planet.”
The revolutionary App Store offers more than 350,000 apps to iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users in 90 countries around the world, with more than 60,000 native iPad apps available. App Store customers can choose from an incredible range of apps in 20 categories, including games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel.."

Source:  Apple press release, 22nd January 2011

Only 60% of American XBox Live members spend their time on the console playing games

"Speaking to attendees of BMO Capital Markets Digital Entertainment Conference in New York, Dennis Durkin, corporate vice president and chief operating and financial officer of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, said that 40 percent of Xbox Live members in the U.S. are spending their time on the console on non-gaming activities. That includes things like watching streaming movies on Netflix, listening to music content on the Zune and Last.fm apps, and eyeballing friends on Twitter and Facebook.
"What we found is the core gamer might be the person who brought the console into the house, but as you widen the choices of content, it broadens what people can do with the system," Durkin said.
According to Durkin, those same members are also spending an average of three hours online, per day."
Source:  ZDNet, 12th November 2010

Digital services account for 25% of UK record industry revenue

"BPI figures for the 12 months ending in September 2010 show that digital services now accounts for a big slice of UK record industry revenue - 24.5%, up from 19.2% a year earlier.  Rising levels of income from digital music are not offsetting declining revenues from falling CD sales, however.
Innovation is helping to drive growth beyond the traditional a la carte music purchase model pioneered by market leader iTunes.  18% of digital income now comes from a mixture of subscription services – like those offered by Napster and eMusic – and the ad-supported services including Spotify and We7."
Source:  BPI Digital Music Nation Report, December 2010
Download the full report here

Levels of music streaming and music downloading are roughly equal in the US

"In the United States, music downloads and streams were nearly even in terms of popularity in August, according to NPD Group’s latest numbers, and are likely now in a dead heat. Downloads to Mac and Windows computers increased from 29 percent in March to 30 percent in August, said an NPD Group spokesman (who declined to be named because only NPD analysts can be quoted officially), while 29 percent of Americans streamed music in August, up from 25 percent in March. (In such studies, a one point difference is within the margin of error.)
These stats paint a clear picture.
Not only is music streaming growing faster than music downloading in the United States, but if the trend continues it will become the dominant computer music listening behavior in this country in a matter of months — and that’s before you take into account smartphone and television streaming.
The tipping point from downloading to streaming took place in France earlier this week, and these numbers indicate that we’re next."
Source:  Data from NPD Group, reported by Evolver,fm, 11th November 2010

There are 2.7 million downloads a day from the Ovi store

"Content
There are 2.7 million downloads a day with an average of 2.6 apps downloaded per visit
About 90% of the daily traffic to Ovi Store converts to downloads
85% of the signed in visitors to Ovi Store are repeat visitors
Each active user is averaging 8.5 downloads per month
Active users in 190+ countries
Games continue to be #1 for paid downloads and apps continue to be #1 for free downloads
90% of mobile consumers now have Ovi Store in their local language
Publishers from more than 90 countries are distributing their content through Ovi Store
Devices
More than 135 devices are supported, 80 are Symbian devices
6 of the top 10 downloading devices are touch devices: 5800 XpressMusic, N97, N97 mini, 5530 XpressMusic, 5230 Nuron, and X6 where available
Prominent Eseries devices included E63, E71 and E72
The 5130 XpressMusic and 2700 classic are the top downloading Series 40 devices
Markets
The most active countries in alphabetical order are: China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey, UK and Vietnam
Over 80% of these consumers can purchase from Ovi Store using their local currency
In countries where mobile billing is available, more than 2/3 of customers choose this payment option
With support for 30 language variations, 90% of Ovi Store visitors are using their local language when available"
Source:  Forum Nokia, as of 28th October 2010