Digital music sales on a roll

According to this News.com article, the rise in legal digital music downloads has made up for the slumping physical album market, which is down 4.2 percent for the first half of 2006 compared to the same period in 2005. According to Neilson SoundScan, sales of digital albums soared 126 percent during the first half of the year, while digital tracks rose 77 percent. Looks like the CD will someday join the vinyl record as an antiquated music medium.

The article also has interesting stats such as 2006's top-selling albums, including Walt Disney Records' "High School Musical" soundtrack, which has sold more than 2.6 million copies to date, and Universal Music Group's 31.6 percent share of the market (Sony BMG is second at 23.9 percent).