Jon Gallant wrote:

>The interesting article Dave Lampson posted quoted the CM share of the
>record market as 2.3%.  I take it this is the US market.  Does anyone know
>the corresponding fraction in Europe? And how these numbers have varied
>since the days of LP?

According to the French national phonographic union (SNEP), CM constituted
14,6% of the record market in 1988, only 7,3% in 1997 and 8,3% in 1998
(6,8% without the music of the movie "Titanic").  The growth of the whole
record market was 2,9% in 1998.

However, it seems that this decline is only relative, because the medium
price of CM records in France is quite lower now than ten years ago.  So
that when you consider the number of records sold - and not only the value
of the CM sales - then the CM share of the record market was 13% in 1988
and still 11% in 1998.

Simon Corley
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