stolen from the velvet rope.

Following is a quick and dirty summary of Nielsen SoundScan's 2006 music sales stats -- more detail coming later.

As no one who's been following these types of reports each week will be surprised to learn, album sales were down and digital track sales were up. It's not an overnight revolution, but the purchase of tracks continues to rise and albums continue to decline (although digital album sales more than doubled). Here's the statistical breakdown over the last four years:

> Album sales 2006: 588.2 million (down 4.9% from 2005)

2005: 618.9 million (down 7.2% from 2004)

2004: 666.7 million (up 1.7% from 2003)

2003: 656.2 million

> Track downloads 2006: 581.9 million (up about 65% from 2005)

2005: 352.7 million (up about 151% from 2004)

2004: 140.9 million (up about 630% from 2003)

2003: 19.2 million

More nuggets follow.

> Downloads set a new weekly record last week (the week after Christmas, when all those new iPod and other players needed to be filled up right away), with 30.1 million tracks sold. That eclipsed the old record (19.9 million, the same week last year). Also, Fergie's Fergalicious set a record for digital song sales in a week with 295,000. Beyonce's Irreplaceable set the record for digital track sales at 269,000. (The difference is that Fergalicious is available in more than one version and combining them adds up to 295,000.)

> Also zooming up: digital album sales (sales of an entire album downloaded). This year's figure was 32.6 million, more than double 2005's 16.2 million and nearly six times 2004's 5.5 million.

> Top 10 albums (physical and digital sales combined, Jan. 2 to Dec. 31):

1. High School Musical: 3.72 million

2. Rascal Flatts/Me and My Gang: 3.48 million

3. Carrie Underwood/Some Hearts: 3.02 million

4. Nickelback/All the Right Reasons: 2.69 million

5. Justin Timberlake/Futuresex/Lovesounds: 2.38 million

6. James Blunt/Back to Bedlam: 2.14 million

7. Beyonce/B'day: 2.01 million

8. Hannah Montana: 1.99 million

9. Dixie Chicks/Taking the Long Way: 1.86 million

10. Hinder/Extreme Behavior: 1.82 million

Those are significantly lower sales levels than last year's top 10, which was topped by Mariah Carey at nearly 5 million (50 Cent also nearly hit 5 million) and bottomed (at No. 10) by The Game, at 2.3 million.

> Top 10 digital songs:

1. Daniel Powter/Bad Day: 2.02 million

2. Nelly Furtado/Promiscuous: 1.71 milion

3. Justin Timberlake/SexyBack: 1.66 million

4. Gnarls Barkley/Crazy: 1.63 million

5. James Blunt/You're Beautiful: 1.62 million

6. Fray/Over My Head: 1.57 million

7. Fray/How to Save a Life: 1.56 million

8. Sean Paul/Temperature: 1.53 million

9. Chamillionaire/Ridin': 1.42 million

10. Shakira/Hips Don't Lie: 1.41 million.

These are higher than last year by around 75% as a whole. Last year's top digital song, Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl, sold 1.17 million.


http://blogs.usatoday.com/listenup/2007 ... sic_s.html

I thought you said this was a music-related thread?

I'm sure some of these artists listen to music!

When the top album is from a Disney Channel made for tv movie or television show, you know it was a shitty year for commercial labels.

Wow. The top release only sold 3.7 mil?

Yeah, you'd think at least one Piece of shit record would make enough people crazy enough to sell at least 5 million.

I wonder how many so called indie bands went gold and platinum this year, since it seemed like there was a decent number in 2005.

High School Musical? wtf is that?

Thread does not deliver.
This is a BUSINESS-related thread.

Disney produced teen musical that the kids apparently can't get enough of. I had never heard of it until about 3 weeks ago when the girl started watching it on the Disney channel just to see what the hype was all about.

It apparently is so popular that at least 3 of the kids that star in it now have albums and their own shows on Disney. They are all over the Teen Beat mags. It's baffling.


Also, Hinder sold 1.82 MILLION?!?!. I've only heard that one song they have but had no idea they were that big. I have no idea what the kids are listening to these days. I would've though that a band like My Chemical Romance would've made that list this year.

While the cd market shits the bed, and the download market rises is not surprising, is it really that strange that records we don't like are in the top 10 albums sold?

Everyone here hates the radio, hates mainstream music (aside from some rap) and generally eschews things if even one person they know in real life has ever heard of it.

Also, I bet if you checked the last 10 years of billboard against the last 10 years of shmoo pols (or as far as they go back) the discrepancy would be the exact same.

The shock and awe of some people around here is either disingenuous, or proof that no one here can read. Take your pick.

Literally no one in this thread expressed any such surprise. Reading comprehension indeed.

Dude where is anyone bashing the fact that these artists sold so much or how shitty they may be perceived to be? Where is this vitriol coming from?

I think this was just a look at what mainstream music sold this year and where music industry sales are going.

I think the most people here take mainstream music with a grain of salt. I have no problem with pop music but you have to admit that most of it is properly marketed, focus grouped, and produced for the masses. Isn't that why most of us come here? Because we look for more than that in music? I mean, how many times can you hear the same 25 songs on mainstream radio?


That being said, that Nickeback is GARBAGE!

There are some implications in these statements open to interpretation.

Sorry, Obner-wan. Please teach me the ways of TEH SMARK so I can be jest like yooo.

nice breeze over here

Huh?

So people can't even hold a discussion about pop music without having some kind of "I'm so superior" agenda?

I also agree with Promethium. If a high school musical is the best thing they had this year then it was a down year for commercial labels.

They are never happy but they usually have at least one album a year that will blow up and take the public by storm.

:chortle:

I by no means will say I am superior to pop music, since my job relies on many of these acts coming to play here. They need to sell a crap ton of albums for most of our target audience to know who they are.
I personally thought the Fergie album would have been higher since I have been inundated with her songs recently. Plus, you usually expect someone who has the top sales for the year to have at least a moderately successful tour.

question: is the total albums sold including the downloads?

is it 555.6 physical + 32.6 d/l = 588.2 total album sales

or

588.2 physical + 32.6 d/l = 620.8 total album sales

bort

ps - this is also a math thread