So, it seems one country really can make the difference when it comes to sales of an entire medium. In case you weren’t aware, the Japanese need to have it. Not a download of it, It. The purchase of the vinyl, cassette, 8track or CD has been a shot in the arm for the industry for years, with hard-to-find physical presses with bonus tracks only available in Japan (like the Random Access Memories CD with an extra track, not released anywhere else in the world). As the world slowly switches to internet-based streaming services such as Spotify, Soundcloud and Pandora, the sales took a huge hit in Japan, to the tune of a 16% drop in the country. To put that in perspective, digital consumption was up 13% in Europe. Writing’s on the wall everyone. Get your shit up for free on Soundcloud & YouTube. Ain’t no one buying your CD until they see you at a show. (via FACT)