(Image source: Sky News ) BY KERRY LEARY Musicians around the world might be breathing a sigh of relief Wednesday after some good news was released. The music industry reported Tuesday that its global sales increased in 2012 --- that’s the first increase since 1999. Let’s take a trip down memory lane... what was going on in the music industry 14 years ago? Britney Spears and N’Sync performed together at the VMAs... And radio station Z100’s compilation of the top songs of 1999 include Christina Aguilera's “Genie in a Bottle,” Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” TLC’s “No Scrubs” and Cher’s “Believe.” Yeah, we would say times have changed since the days of “Oops, I Did it Again.” The music industry was one of the first media businesses to be consumed by the digital revolution. The New York Times has more on the exact numbers. “The increase, of 0.3 percent, was tiny, and the total revenue, $16.5 billion, was a far cry from the $38 billion that the industry took in at its peak more than a decade ago. Still, … the figures … are a significant psychological boost.” So, where is the increase actually coming from? AllThingsD says “Some of that growth comes from the rise of subscription services like Spotify and Deezer, which now represent more than 10 percent of worldwide digital revenue. But digital sales are still primarily about iTunes and download sales, which account for 70 percent of the total. Sales on iTunes have been flattening for some time in the U.S., but as Apple expands internationally, its numbers keep growing.” The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry also noted the industry’s recovery was fragile because of the large presence of illegal free music.   But ABC’s Good Morning America reports , strict online regulations for illegal music and movie downloads begin this week. “The top internet providers will be tracking illegal downloads as part of the new copyright alert system, organized by the entertainment industry. you will get six warnings to stop...and the real punishment kicks in....” The real punishment? Your service provider will temporarily slow your internet connection to a crawl.