Just what will music consumption look like in 2013?  JupiterResearch has
been criticized for being overly-optimistic on sales projections and
unrealistic about piracy, though a recent forecast points to a broader
decline for the recording industry.  Specifically, the group predicts
that digital formats will account for 41 percent of total recording
sales in the United States, up from a current estimate of 18 percent. 
In terms of total revenues, the Forrester-owned group predicts a drop
from $10.2 billion currently to $9.8 billion, based on broader declines
in core CD sales.

Actually, that decline is quite modest, and
probably still optimistic.  In 1999, recording industry sales topped
$14.6 billion, according the RIAA.  On one level, sales are
transitioning towards digital formats, though Jupiter acknowledged that
online and mobile formats will not compensate for physical declines. 
Increasingly, the question is whether consumers will embrace paid
downloading, especially as the format appears to be entering a
plateau.  On that point, Jupiter predicted that 55 percent of Americans
will pay for downloads, in some form, by 2013.