The current boom in online music sales will reverse the decade-long decline in sales for the music industry sometime in 2010, according to a new report.

Growth in broadband internet access and stong sales of portable music players are driving the market, says the report by Screen Digest. 

The total European market for online music will have more than doubled from €121m in 2005 to €280m by the end of this year. By 2010 consumer spending on online music in Europe will generate more than €1.1bn.

Music sales started their steady decline in 2001 and have lost 22 per cent of their value to date.

Over seven per cent of Europeans now have a portable music player, up from two per cent in 2004. By the end of 2005 there were 29 million portable music players in Europe, and this will rise to more than 80 million by 2010.

"Online sales alone are not going to be enough to halt the decline in music sales," said Dan Cryan, Screen Digest analyst and author of the report.

"The music industry needs to make the most of new delivery platforms. We believe that, with the right mobile and online strategy, the worst might be over by 2010.

"But the industry must adopt a broader approach to selling music, looking beyond the traditional single and album."

The report analyses the causes of declining revenues for the music industry and shows that a wider view must be taken to understand and address the change in consumer behaviour.

While the music industry has blamed piracy and taken action against illegal down-loaders, including the parents of children who indulge in downloading, data from music industry body IFPI suggests that piracy is declining.

The number of tracks available on illegal file sharing networks declined from 1.1 billion in 2003 to 885 million in 2005. 

The erosion of shelf space devoted to music in multiple retailers, such as HMV and Virgin, and its replacement with DVDs, books, mobile phones and other lifestyle items, cannot be ignored as a cause, according to the report.