Local music stores are struggling to overcome the effects of a global slump in CD album sales as Internet piracy and illegal downloads cut sharply into revenues.

Music Box owner Eddie DeMello said bootleg CDs, Internet downloading and a new tech-savvy generation who listen to music on iPods have led to an approximate 25 percent drop in CD sales at his Reid Street store.

Music Box and other CD shops have had to radically alter their business strategies in order to survive in the digital age of music.

?You can easily download music for free, if I had to run this business on CD revenues alone, we wouldn?t be able to survive,? Mr. DeMello said.

?We?ve had to diversify by selling other items such as wine coolers, fans and World Cup T-shirts.

?One of the reasons we are able to survive is we continue to carry (orchestral artist) Mantovani and customers also like to come in and look for classical artists such as Beethoven.?

Mr. DeMello said the decline in the popularity of CDs has been a trend for the last three years and he suggests that trend is unlikely to be reversed given that young people are more inclined to opt for digital downloads than the old technology of their parents.

Dub City Records manager Donovan Mackoy also said the future of CD sales in an uncertain one. Sales are cripplingly affected by the Internet and the popularity of iPods, he said.

?Technology is doing the talking, we need help from the record industry to stop this piracy,? Mr. Mackoy said.

He also said he has asked record labels to be more pro-active about marketing to Bermuda consumers.

?We have been asking the record labels in the US to have release parties in Bermuda to boost sales for artists such as Michael Jackson,? Mr. Mackoy said.

Based on Court Street, Mr. Mackoy said Dub City Records spends a lot of time staging special events to promote artists such as Collie Buddz, a Bermudian musician whose music is available on the Internet.

In an effort to secure success, Dub City also pushes for heavy radio play and promotion of various artists.

But with the strong lure of the Internet and ever improving technology, traditional music shops may be facing a losing battle.

Music World manager Michael DeMello said until a solution is found to the problem of pirated CDs, the 25-30 percent decline in sales his shop has experienced over the last five years will only worsen.

?You can get a brand new Billboard top album from the Internet before it even has been released and in the future digital distribution will shape the industry geared to one market, tech savvy people (aged) 20-30,? he said.

Without diversifying into other products such as DVDs, magazines, video games and accessories, his Bermudiana Arcade shop might not have survived, he said.