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Johannesburg - Spending in the digital music market in SA is expected to surge to R425m by 2014, from R130m in 2009, assurance, tax and advisory services group PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said on Friday.
The increase would be an average compound annual growth of 26.7%.
PwC's first edition of its South African Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2010-2014 forecast that spending on digital was not expected to surpass spending on physical formats over the next five years.
However, by 2014 digital spending would be more than half that of physical spending, it said.
The local music market has experienced a decline over the past two years, losing 17.3% in 2009. The recorded music market is made up of consumer spending on physical formats and digital distribution, which consists of music distributed to cellphones and licensed internet music downloads.
PwC said that the physical format market would continue to decline at double-digit annual rates to 2012, moderating to single-digit decreases during 2013-14.
Vicki Myburgh, director of entertainment and media for PwC Southern Africa, said prices for digital formats are significantly lower than that of physical formats and this will result in a shift in consumption.
PwC said the digital market had developed relatively slowly in SA due to limited internet access. Low broadband penetration limits internet distribution because it is not easy to download from a home computer.
Cellphone downloads continue to dominate the market, it said.
It warned that piracy inhibited digital market growth, although efforts to clamp down in the physical market were yielding results.
The increase would be an average compound annual growth of 26.7%.
PwC's first edition of its South African Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2010-2014 forecast that spending on digital was not expected to surpass spending on physical formats over the next five years.
However, by 2014 digital spending would be more than half that of physical spending, it said.
The local music market has experienced a decline over the past two years, losing 17.3% in 2009. The recorded music market is made up of consumer spending on physical formats and digital distribution, which consists of music distributed to cellphones and licensed internet music downloads.
PwC said that the physical format market would continue to decline at double-digit annual rates to 2012, moderating to single-digit decreases during 2013-14.
Vicki Myburgh, director of entertainment and media for PwC Southern Africa, said prices for digital formats are significantly lower than that of physical formats and this will result in a shift in consumption.
PwC said the digital market had developed relatively slowly in SA due to limited internet access. Low broadband penetration limits internet distribution because it is not easy to download from a home computer.
Cellphone downloads continue to dominate the market, it said.
It warned that piracy inhibited digital market growth, although efforts to clamp down in the physical market were yielding results.
