Universal Still On Top

Reuters: Today, the IFPI published its 12th annual Recording Industry in Numbers - which many regard as one of the most complete and authoritative sources of music industry statistics in the world...Universal Music remained the world's biggest recording company in 2004 with a 25.5 percent share of the annual $33.6 billion global recorded music market...Overall, the industry seems to be chasing after older listeners after losing younger fans to file-sharing and illegal downloading..."About 55 percent of the music sold last year was bought by people older than 30 compared with 48 percent in 1999." The article also reports that, "Americans are buying more country music and less pop than they did five years ago, while British fans are buying more rock and rap and less dance music..."