Song download sales are reportedly down by roughly 3 percent in the US for the year-to-date.

The numbers are cumulative stats and mean 2013 could be the first year that paid downloads have decreased.  

The dropoff is likely to be reflected in an upcoming, first-half report issued by Nielsen Soundscan - expected in around two or three weeks - according to sources.  

"If [Nielsen] says it's less than 2 [percent], they're fudging," an 'executive' source told Digital Music News. "Maybe ...