Rath on 28 January 2010
Heres the data with a couple of years earlier added on (the most I can find) and it paints a somewhat different picture.
It shows a few flat years before what appears to be a peak, not a constant growth. Would be very cool if somebody could find earlier data though.
Personally I think the '99/'00 boom might have been due to the cultural phonemons at the time, it was the peak of N'sync, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and Eminem. Pop music hasn't been quite so hot since then.
Essay Pro