A survey of 10,000 people aged over 50 compiled by the BPI and charity Age Concern revealed the 50-plus bracket accounted for nearly a quarter of all album purchases in 2004. 59% bought an album in the previous three months while 20% bought six or more CDs a year.
The BPI says that appetite for buying digital tunes will spur a wave of business as the boomers, who apparently don't know how to rip a CD, load up on back-catalogue artists in download format.
In the UK, sales of songs in digital format exceeded 23 million this year, four times 2004's sales. The BPI expects that figure to spike sharply in the week before New Year as music fans who received MP3 players for Christmas try out their new gifts.
