Digital entertainment sales hit over £1bn
Digital entertainment sales hit over £1bn in 2012, meaning a quarter of the entertainment market is now digital, according to the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA).
Sales generated from downloaded films, music and games rose 11.4 per cent from 2011 to £1,033bn, according to the ERA.
This means that over a quarter of the entertainment market is now digital. However, the physical market maintains the majority of the market, despite seeing a sharp fall in overall sales.
Sales of physical products including DVDs, CDs, Blu-rays and video games dropped by over 17 per cent, while more than half of the digital sales went on video games, representing around £552m - up 7.7 per cent from 2011.
Music downloads surged 15 per cent from 2011 accounting for £383m of sales. Film and video downloads also saw a sharp increase, rising 20.4 per cent to £98m.
ERA director general Kim Bayley said breaching the £1bn barrier is an “incredible” achievement for the UK’s digital entertainment retailers reflecting their huge investment in new and innovative services in the music, video and games spaces.
“At the same time I suspect that many people will be surprised to learn just how resilient the physical business still is - with three quarters of entertainment sales still on disc. Downloads offer convenience and portability, but people still seem to value the quality and tangibility of a physical product," said Bayley.