Downloads 'On A Downward Trend', Say Experts

For the first time since Apple (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) introduced the iTunes store 10 years ago, digital sales of music are down with streaming-music platforms proving increasingly popular.

Music streaming service Spotify's paying global subscribers grew to 10 million this week.

Rahul Sood, the general manager of Microsoft Ventures, told Sky News he believes its success partly down to timing.

"Sometimes it's a matter of being in the right place at the right time and getting traction quickly," he explained.

"Spotify went into an industry that's very difficult to make money in, people discounted them immediately and said you'll never make money and they turned it around."

The battle between streaming and downloads has shifted gear with the release of Coldplay's new album.

Not only has Ghost Stories become the fastest-selling UK album of the year, it is also exclusively out on iTunes.

Apple also looks set to pay $3.2bn (£1.9bn) for music streaming service and headphone maker Beats Electronics.

But, aside from music tech acquisitions, there is a growing number of music tech startups.

Tunepics, a site which claims to be the first social network to be built, based and funded in Britain, launched this week.

The app allows you to post a picture with a 30 second song clip.

Founder Justin Cooke told Sky News he is aware the competition is tough.

"It's not going to be easy but we're doing this because we love it. Every person that we show has been so excited."

Tech experts believe social platforms are becoming an integrated part of how we listen to music.

CNET (NasdaqCM: CNET - news) 's Luke Westaway says it is likely that even more of us will be ditching downloads in the years to come.

"I think it's fair to say that streaming is probably going to be the way that we listen to music in the future because you get such a vast library of tracks to listen to at a pretty low cost."