The line graph compares three types of music sales, such as streams, downloads, and CDs purchased, in terms of their popularity among people over a seven-year period, from 2011 to 2018.
From an overall perspective, it is apparent that sales of downloads and CDs purchased experienced a downward trend, whereas the percentage of people who preferred purchasing streams faced the opposite trend. Of particular note is that listening to CDs purchased was in the top position in 2011; however, in 2018, the trend of streams became the most popular kind of music.
In 2011, CD purchases were the most popular format, at around 55%, but their figures dropped steadily throughout the period. In 2016, downloads and streams met at approximately 30%, as downloads declined slightly while streams continued to rise. Although downloads fluctuated and then fell, they still held second place until streams overtook them.
In more detail, streams increased consistently from about 5% in 2011 to nearly 40% in 2018, becoming the dominant method by the end of the period. Despite this growth, CDs recorded the highest figure overall, reaching about 55% in 2011, which is more than 15% higher than any category in 2018.