The digital music train is losing some steam.While digital music downloads are continuing to grow in sales and revenue, that growth is slowing, and overall sales in the industry continue to slip, according to several reports by Nielsen SoundScan and Billboard Magazine published throughout September. The digital age in music sales, even with continuous growth, has not stopped the music industry’s recent sales losses. The growth rate for digital album sales has slowed from 32 percent in the first six months of 2008 to just 18.9 percent during the same period in 2009.Single digital track sales have also slowed from a 30 percent growth rate to just a 13 percent growth in 2009, according to a Billboard report and Nielsen SoundScan sales figures released in July.Any remaining illusion that digital album sales will even remotely make up for sagging physical CD sales has been completely obliterated, according to Melinda Newman, former West Coast Bureau Chief for Billboard, on her entertainment news Web site HitFix.com. Total album sales — physical and digital — in the first six months of 2009 decreased 8.9 percent from sales in the first six months of 2008, according to a July Billboard report.To make up for the dropping sales, many new gimmicks like variable pricing, the $1.29 price for some of the more popular tracks on Apple’s iTunes, the makeover of the iTunes music store in the recently released iTunes 9 and Rhapsody’s monthly unlimited music subscriptions were introduced and caused digital revenue to increase, but total revenue figures for both physical and digital music continues to suffer, according to Glenn Peoples of Billboard.Recently, as part of the iTunes 9 improvements, iTunes redesigned iTunes U, a section of the store with different academic features for college students like lectures and audio textbooks, according to Mark Milian of the Los Angeles Times. The store now has a more prominent section in users’ libraries and is easier to access in the iTunes store.In addition to iTunes U, Apple has tried luring college students to iTunes by including free iPods when students purchase a new computer for school. Other digital music services have tried catering to college students in the past. Former music service Ruckus offered free music downloads to students, but did not allow students to transfer those songs to a portable device, like an MP3 player.Restrictions like that one are a possible reason for Ruckus’ demise, according to Sheri Thompson, IT communications and planning officer.”Most people want to be able to listen to their music on multiple devices when and where they are in the mood to hear it,” Thompson said in an e-mail. “People dislike being hampered by only being able to listen to a specific song on one device. I think a lot of people feel that access to music should be more ubiquitous.”Even though listening to music digitally is growing, support for physical copies of music still exists, according to some University students.”I usually buy CDs,” said Matt Rudh, agricultural business junior. “I like to support the artist, and getting music online takes away from the band.”In addition to students purchasing CDs, some also like to download music using iTunes or other legal services, as long as revenue goes to the band.”I like to buy CDs and use iTunes,” said Chris Moore, anthropology senior. “I just want to support the artist.”Students’ desire to support the artists or bands have helped deter many from illegally downloading. The University has only issued four fines for illegal downloads since the University’s download policy went into effect August 1, according to Thompson. ——Contact Alex White at [email protected]