Sales are expected to drop 18% this year
According to Nielsen SoundScan, an information system that tracks music sales in the US and Canada, paying to download a new song will be a thing of the past by 2021. Preliminary details show a drastic 23.4% drop over the last two years. By 2019, sales are expected to have a 40% drop and that will subsequently lead to an industry-ending drop of 93% roughly 6 years from now. Noticing these changes, companies like Apple and Amazon are making changes towards paid music streaming services.
For the dance music scene, these changes mean that Beatport sales are coming to an end and producers will have to focus on promoting their music on Spotify or Apple Music. They would also be wise to invest in better music videos for YouTube, and get as many shows as they can.
Source: Digital Music News