facts, figures, & findings - DVD, online music - Industry Trend or Event

Emedia Professional, April, 2000 by Michelle Manafy

DVD Players, Projection TV Sales Continue to Climb

According to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), DVD players are its strongest-selling category. DVD players opened the year with 370,000 units shipped in January, a 195% increase over last January's shipments. For the week ending February 4,2000, month-to-date DVD player unit sales to dealers were 54,611, a 270.3% increase over the same week in 1999. The CEA estimates that DVD player sales will reach more than 6.5 million units this year. (http://www.ce.org)

The Future Looks Bright for DVD Players

NPD Intelect Market Tracking projects that more than eight million DVD players will be purchased this year. Reports from key retailers indicate that January DVD sales are three-to-four-times larger than comparable sales in 1998. According to NPD, video recorders did not reach the eight-million sales level for 12 years. They believe that the new technology has been embraced this rapidly because of the demographics of DVD buyers. People purchasing DVD players today are not limited to the techies or hobbyists who invested in laserdisc, or who purchase elaborate home-theater systems. NPD also cites the ability of DVD players to play CDs as another factor in their popularity. (http://www.NPDIntelect.com)

Online Music Soles Projected to Soar

Sales of downloaded music will top $10 million this year, and may rise as high as $284 million in 2001, according to statistics reported by Forrester Research and published in InfoTech Trends. The report projects that revenue from CDs sold online will exceed $1 billion this year and almost double in 2001. InfoTech Trends also published statistics by Jupiter Communications projecting that 15 million people will download or purchase music online this year. (http://www.infotechtrends.com)