Digital music surpassed physical sales for first time in 2014

The strong growth in the music streaming market helped digital music revenues to surpass physical sales for the first time in 2014.

According to the report by music industry body IFPI, the digital market rose 6.9 percent to 6.9 billion dollars representing 46 percent of all global music sales, the BBC reported.

CDs, vinyl and other physical formats also accounted for 46 percent of the market, with rights for performances, films and advertisements making up the rest.

IFPI chief executive, Frances Moore, asserted that they will be looking, in the next couple of years, at digital surpassing physical.

The London-based body also noted that vinyl sales had increased by 54.7 percent, and now account for 2 percent of global revenues.

The global recorded music industry was worth 14.97 billion dollars last year, down from 15 billion dollars in 2013.

However, the situation varies in different countries as US saw an overall increase of 2.1 percent but large markets including France and the UK saw declining sales by 3.4 percent and 2.8 percent respectively.

Taylor Swift was the most popular artist in the world last year and Pharrell Williams hit single 'Happy' sold 13.9 million copies in 2014.