Digital Song Sales Aid U.S. Music Purchases

Sales of music online may be starting to cure the record industry’s blues. Music fans have purchased an estimated 15.9 million digital songs through licensed online services, including Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes Music Store, since late June, research firm Nielsen SoundScan will announce today.

As a result, total U.S. music sales -- including albums and commercially released singles -- are down just 2.2% for the year through Sunday. That contrasts with a 12.9% drop reported for the same period last year.

Without the digital songs, overall sales this year would be down 4.7%.

The top-selling digital song is Outkast’s “Hey Ya,” with 83,000 copies sold, according to the firm’s data.

A crucial question is whether sales of digital singles, which typically sell for 99 cents, will displace sales of full CDs, which generate far more money for the major record corporations.

But so far, sales of full-length CDs don’t appear to be worsening amid the nascent legal downloaded market. Overall sales of CDs, which account for about 96% of the market, are down 3% this year, compared with an 8.8% decline for the period a year earlier, according to Nielsen SoundScan data.