Music Week reveals that "the number of independent music shops and chains fell sharply in 2004." Ironically, within the same year there was a 63% increase in the number of supermarkets selling music. The closing of independent and chain music stores has encouraged non-music retailers, to experiment with the selling CD's in the UK and US. In the states Walmart accounts for about one-fifth of CD's sold across the nation.

Although the record companies have suffered great economic loss as a result of widespread downloading, they have been able to survive the drastic changes that the industry is undergoing right now.  However the same cannot be said of the traditional music retailer, the majority of which have had to declare banckruptcy or have had to close a number of branch locations.  The article estimates percentages of sales that will account for the future shift from physical to digital distribution in the next several years.