Keeping track of new music, media and industry news.

In 2011 Germany bucked the trend and posted a 0.1% increase in record industry revenue which, while not sounding like much, is a hell of a lot more than the losses that were being suffered pretty much everywhere else.

Now, after everyone’s been buoyed by the news that worldwide industry revenues are up for the first time since 1999, Germany has cast a financial shadow by posting a 3.2% decline. Bloody hell guys. Hopefully it isn’t a portent of darker times to come.

If it isn’t, that’ll probably be because of a digital sector in rude health. Revenues from legal downloads and streaming are up massively; and it’s the same case in the USA, which has also posted a general loss while digital sales soar (digital now accounts for a whopping 59% of American music income). One insinuation is that as digital sales rise, general revenue falls. A worrying dilemma? Or just the industry adjusting to a new financial and technological landscape? Time will tell…