Swiss music market continues to shrink
According to an official press release, the 30 music labels that make up IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry) Switzerland achieved total sales of 84.8 million Swiss francs in 2014, 8% less than in the previous year. Swiss repertoire contributed around 27 percent to this result.
The development is characterized by two trends: on the one hand, the decline in sales in the traditional CD business is continuing, while on the other hand, the extremely dynamic digital business is also undergoing a structural change, in which the established download offerings are coming under pressure from streaming service providers. IFPI members have invested around CHF 6 million (around 26%) of gross sales in the development of national talent.
Sales from the sale of CDs and other physical sound carriers contributed CHF 47.5 million to total sales (2013: CHF 53.7 million, -12%), of which around CHF 2 million was attributable to vinyl and other sound carriers. This decline in sales basically follows the general trend of CDs being replaced by online music consumption. The trend has been reinforced by the persistent strength of the Swiss franc since 2010 and the resulting direct imports by retailers and end consumers, which in turn has led to a reduction in sales space for CDs.
According to IFPI Switzerland, the share of such directly imported CDs is estimated at around 30 percent of purchases by Swiss end consumers; this income bypasses Swiss distributors. On the other hand, it is also apparent that the decline in sales in the CD business has recently slowed down: After a very drastic decline in previous years, it amounted to CHF -6.2 million (-12%) in 2014. The share of physical sound carriers in total sales amounted to 56% in 2014 (2013:
58 percent).
