Christian music sales one per cent down compared with mainstream's 10 per cent

AT THE recent International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) held in the US, Greg Bays, Senior Vice President of sales and marketing for EMI Christian Music Group, explained to delegates why in the US Christian retail music sales dropped only one per cent in 2009 compared with 2008 while general market retailers experienced a 10 per cent decline in music sales. Bays said the latest research from The NPD Group (National Purchase Diary) revealed that 65 per cent of Christian music buyers only purchase CDs, while 17 per cent buy both CDs and digital formats. "This translates to only 18 per cent of Christian music buyers being 'digital only' buyers. Christian retail still receives exceptionally high customer satisfaction ratings from consumers with customer service/shopping experience and selection/availability of music being key factors." CR

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.