Classical Notes: January 9, 2007 Archive

Upbeat about downloads

Posted at 3:59 PM on January 9, 2007 by Don Lee

The January 8 page in my day planner carries this quotation from conductor Fritz Reiner: "Watch out for emergencies. They are your big chance."

Last year you might have thought the classical music recording industry faced a dire emergency. There was a double-digit decline in classical album sales from 2004 to 2005.

Today comes this news, reported by Musical America: Nielsen SoundScan says classical album sales were up 22.5 percent in 2006. That figure includes downloads. It may have taken us awhile, but it seems we geezers (and classical recording distributors) are finally figuring out how iTunes works.