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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: puborectalis who wrote (178366)	9/6/2001 9:39:16 PM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 769670

Brits are world's biggest music buyers LONDON (Reuters) - The British buy the most albums per head of any nation, with rap, hip-hop and other types of urban music showing the greatest rise in popularity, a report by a leading music industry body has found. Britons buy an average of four albums a year, followed closely in the rankings by Denmark and the world's biggest music market, the United States, with Britney Spears, Santana and the Beatles the most popular artists last year, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) said. The 200-page report showed local artists and labels have surged in popularity, representing seven out of every 10 albums sold worldwide and rising to 68 percent of sales from 58 percent between 1991 and 2000. "We're not seeing as many massive international artists with decades of success any more and music companies have become more sophisticated in their international marketing to develop local artists," said the IFPI's Keith Jopling who compiled the report. Types of music available have also exploded, with genres such as urban and dance rising in the charts while rock music has made a comeback. The IFPI's 2000 figures published in April showed world music sales sagged 1.3 percent to $36.9 billion (25 billion pounds) last year, despite improved album sales boosted by the likes of Britney Spears and a star performance from Europe. The music industry is facing the prospect of sluggish growth in coming years as the replacement of cassettes with CDs wanes. The IFPI, which represents the global industry, said CD sales hit 2.5 billion in 2000, up 150 percent over the decade. By tapping into more local talent, music companies hope they can generate more growth. Online sales are also seen as the next saviour for the industry but it is still unclear to what extent consumers are willing to pay for music over the Internet. Five major music groups -- EMI, Warner, Universal, Sony and BMG -- control around 75 percent of world music sales.