MUMBAI: Tumbling CD sales, the rise of digital piracy and an absence of big name acts on tour have led to a Ł189 million drop in UK music revenues last year.

The music industry saw revenues plummet 4.8 per cent to Ł3.8 billion in 2010, following a booming 2009, which witnessed Susan Boyle's record-breaking debut and big-selling albums from Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson.

With consumers cutting their spending amid fears over the state of the economy, nervous band managers decided against launching tours for their big name acts lest they fail to attract enough audience.

Live music revenues fell 6.8 per cent to Ł1.48 billion in 2010, after witnessing a decade of growth figures.

"A number of stadium- and arena-filling bands were not on tour and many of those that did tour opted to play smaller venues to limit their risk (Kings of Leon and Rod Stewart)," said the UK's music royalties body, PRS for Music, in its Adding Up The UK Music Industry report for 2010.

However, a rebound in income from live gigs is expected this year, as artists such as Rihanna, Westlife, Justin Bieber and Take That launch major tours.

The British love of festivals remained unaffected with a 20 per cent rise in revenues from ticket sales, thanks to festivals like Latitude increasing in size and the launch of a number of new events.

Sales of CDs fell by 7.9 per cent to Ł1.24 billion as music piracy rose and digital services such as Spotify and Pandora changed listening patterns.

Despite increased growth in revenue from digital services in the UK, up almost 20 per cent year on year to Ł316.5 million; the report said the promise of legal streaming and download services appears to have been flashy 

"While steep falls in physical revenues continued apace in 2010, there were clear signs that growth in digital revenues slowed across the main international recorded music industry markets," said the report, with global digital revenue growth halving year on year to just 5.3 per cent.

"Put more bluntly, global digital revenues are not going to be the '$30 billion baby' people talked about five years ago. Indeed they may stabilise at around $5 billion," the report added.

MUMBAI: Tumbling CD sales, the rise of digital piracy and an absence of big name acts on tour have led to a Ł189 million drop in UK music revenues last year.

The music industry saw revenues plummet 4.8 per cent to Ł3.8 billion in 2010, following a booming 2009, which witnessed Susan Boyle's record-breaking debut and big-selling albums from Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson.

With consumers cutting their spending amid fears over the state of the economy, nervous band managers decided against launching tours for their big name acts lest they fail to attract enough audience.

Live music revenues fell 6.8 per cent to Ł1.48 billion in 2010, after witnessing a decade of growth figures.

"A number of stadium- and arena-filling bands were not on tour and many of those that did tour opted to play smaller venues to limit their risk (Kings of Leon and Rod Stewart)," said the UK's music royalties body, PRS for Music, in its Adding Up The UK Music Industry report for 2010.

However, a rebound in income from live gigs is expected this year, as artists such as Rihanna, Westlife, Justin Bieber and Take That launch major tours.

The British love of festivals remained unaffected with a 20 per cent rise in revenues from ticket sales, thanks to festivals like Latitude increasing in size and the launch of a number of new events.

Sales of CDs fell by 7.9 per cent to Ł1.24 billion as music piracy rose and digital services such as Spotify and Pandora changed listening patterns.

Despite increased growth in revenue from digital services in the UK, up almost 20 per cent year on year to Ł316.5 million; the report said the promise of legal streaming and download services appears to have been flashy 

"While steep falls in physical revenues continued apace in 2010, there were clear signs that growth in digital revenues slowed across the main international recorded music industry markets," said the report, with global digital revenue growth halving year on year to just 5.3 per cent.

"Put more bluntly, global digital revenues are not going to be the '$30 billion baby' people talked about five years ago. Indeed they may stabilise at around $5 billion," the report added.