Beres Hammond

LOVERS ROCK king Beres Hammond's new album, A Moment in Time, was released digitally last week, according to a release from distributor VP Records.

Cristy Barber, vice-president of marketing and sales at VP, said A Moment in Time will be released in compact disc form on October 14. VP, however, is looking to break one of its top artistes into the increasingly lucrative download market.

"We had planned for one worldwide release in October, but quickly decided to make the album available digitally with all the requests we've been getting," Barber is quoted as saying in the statement.

Digital route

With young music fans choosing to buy songs by downloading through the Internet, rather than buying CDs, record companies are banking on the digital route to sell their products.

Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks international music figures, reported in January that digital downloads accounted for 23 per cent of music sales in 2007. This represented a 45 per cent increase. In contrast, CD sales dropped by nine per cent.

Boost in sales

Three of the biggest-selling albums in the United States this year - by the Jonas Brothers, Coldplay and Miley Cyrus - were boosted by strong digital performances.

In November, the digital information company Jupiter Research predicted that, by 2012 digital downloads will account for 34 per cent of music sales.

Meanwhile, Hammond starts a tour of the United States to promote A Moment in Time today. The tour is scheduled to kick off in Richmond, Virginia and end September 9 in Washington DC.