CMU Daily reports that British consumers will spend up to £160million on digital downloads this year, which is up about 50% on last year on new estimates from ERA Digital, the new digital arm of the Entertainment Retailers Association.

CMU Daily reports that British consumers will spend up to £160million on digital downloads this year, which is up about 50% on last year on new estimates from ERA Digital, the new digital arm of the Entertainment Retailers Association.

Although single track downloads remain popular and will account for well over half that figure, ERA think that it is the growth in full album downloads that will have an especially important role in generating those record digital revenues. The arrival of high profile new download stores like those being planned by Play.com and Amazon, all of which are sure to be accompanied by considerable marketing spend, will also aid the legitimate download boom. Elsewhere a new report from Forrester Research predicts that digital music sales will surpass CD sales within five years. Following a survey of 5000 customers in the US and Canada, the Forrester study has predicted that digital sales will grow on average 23% each year meaning annual download sales by 2012 will be $4.8billion. CD sales will continue to decline, meanwhile, so that by 2012 they generate $3.8b - so overall the record labels will see dwindling sales.