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Post by areyoureadytojump on Jul 7, 2011 9:54:48 GMT -5
U.S. Mid-Year Album Sales Up for First Time Since 2004, According to SoundScan Figures
July 06, 2011
By Ed Christman (@edchristman), New York
This year, U.S. album sales were up at the mid-year point, the first time that has occurred since 2004, the last positive sales-growth year posted by this country's music industry.
For the week ending July 3, album sales totaled 155.5 million units, up nearly 1% from the nearly 154 million units scanned during the corresponding first half of 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Just as importantly, digital track sales have seen robust growth, jumping 10.6% to 660.8 million units, up from 597.5 million units in the corresponding period last year, when digital song downloads barely finished with positive growth.
Consequently, with album and track sales both up, the industry's current main barometer, albums including track-equivalent albums (TEA)-whereby 10 tracks equal one album unit-also enjoyed healthy growth in the first half, with a 3.7% gain to 221.5 million units, up from 213.7 million units in the corresponding period last year.
Overall sales are up 8.7% to 817.7 million units versus 752.4 milllion units the first half of 2010.
Catalog albums-those titles out for more than 18 months that are not in the top half of the Billboard 200 or active at radio-led the charge in album sales, with sales of that album category up 7.2% to 72.6 million units as compared to the 67.6 million generated in the corresponding period last year.
Current albums, however, were down 3.9% to 82.8 million units from the 86.2 million units scanned in the first half of 2010.
Showing the decline in current albums so far this year, only two albums have sold more than a million units: Adele's "21" has scanned 2.5 million units and Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" stands at 1.54 million. In contrast in 2010 at the mid year point, five albums had accomplished that feat, led by Lady Antebellum's "Need You Now," with 2.36 million units.
In 2011, the same two albums also lead in digital album sales, with the former's mid-year count at 992,000 units and the latter at 750,000. Last year the best-selling album was MTV's digital-only release "Hope for Haiti," which had scanned 371,000 units.
Katy Perry's "E.T.," which features Kanye West, with 4.12 million scans, is the best-selling digital song so far this year. So far, 2011 has seen 52 songs reach the million-unit mark, of which 17 tracks were at 2 million or more. Last year, 39 songs had reached the million-unit mark by mid-year, and 14 of them were at 2 million or more, with Train's "Hey Soul Sister" leading the way with nearly 3.4 million units.
By configuration, digital album sales grew 19.3% to 50.3 million during the first half of the year, up from 41.2 million tallied in 2010's corresponding period; just yesterday, Eminem's "Recovery" was announced as the first album to pass 1 million downloads, and Adele's "21" will probably follow suit next week. The CD album sales declined slowed considerably during the first half of the year to a 6.5% drop to 103.3 million units, down from 110.5 million in the first six months of 2010. That 6.5% drop compares to a 17.9% decline in CD album sales between 2010 and 2009. In fact, CD sales were down 12.5% at the end of the first quarter, and in the second quarter CD album sales of 51.4 million units actually grew by nearly 1%, or to be exact 0.8%, up from nearly 50 million units scanned in the second quarter of 2010.
Looking at it another way, CD account for 66.4% of album sales while digital albums account for nearly about 32.3%. Vinyl album sales grew 41.2% to 1.88 million, but still only account for 1.2% of U.S. album sales.
But when you look at album sales with track equivalents, which this year totaled 221.5%, the digital format accounts for 52.5% of album with TEA; CD albums comprise 46.6%; and vinyl .85%.
Looking at where music is sold, the non-traditional sector holds a commanding lead, accounting for 42.3% of album sales. In the first half of the year, album sales for that sector grew 18.6% to 65.9 million units from 55.5 million in the corresponding period last year.
While the other store sectors posted declines in the first half, their pace slowed considerably. Chain merchants such as Barnes & Noble, Best Buy and Trans World Entertainment saw their album sales experience an 11.3% decline in the first half of 2011, compared with a 33% decline in the first half of 2010. Mass merchants such as Walmart and Target suffered a 7.9% decline versus a 13% decline for the first half of 2010; and indie stores were down 6.7% in the first half.
Last year that sector showed album sales up from the prior year, but that was due to a change in the definition of indie stores, which resulted in regional chains like Newbury Comics and Bull Moose being moved out of chains to the indie-store sector.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Jul 7, 2011 9:55:48 GMT -5
www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/retail/top-selling-albums-of-2011-so-far-1005267092.storyTop-Selling Albums of 2011 So Far July 05, 2011 By Keith Caulfield ( keith_caulfield), Los Angeles With 2011 half-over, Adele's "21" reigns as the year's biggest selling album in the U.S., shifting 2,517,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "21" has moved 2,517,000 copies in the U.S. since its release on Feb. 22 -- through the week ending July 3, the mid-point of the tracking year. It's the only album to have sold more than 2 million in 2011, and one of only two to surpass 1 million. The second is Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," which has moved 1,540,000. (72% of that total was shifted in its debut week, when it started with 1,108,000 -- making it only the 17th album to sell a million in one week since SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.) Mid-Year 2011 Top Albums Artist Title Year to Date Sales* 1 Adele 21 2,517,000 2 Lady Gaga Born This Way 1,540,000 3 Mumford & Sons Sigh No More 982,000 4 Jason Aldean My Kinda Party 763,000 5 Bruno Mars Doo Wops & Hooligans 686,000 6 Justin Bieber Never Say Never: The Remixes (EP) 676,000 7 Chris Brown F.A.M.E. 646,000 8 Various Artists Now 37 637,000 9 Nicki Minaj Pink Friday 609,000 10 Katy Perry Teenage Dream 600,000 11 Rihanna Loud 598,000 12 Britney Spears Femme Fatale 590,000 13 Taylor Swift Speak Now 563,000 14 P!nk Greatest Hits 530,000 15 Justin Bieber My World 2.0 524,000 16 Eminem Recovery 517,000 17 Foo Fighters Wasting Light 497,000 18 Wiz Khalifa Rolling Papers 484,000 19 Lady Antebellum Need You Now 473,000 20 Various Now 38 440,000 *SOURCE: NIELSEN SOUNDSCAN, year to date sales through the week ending July 3, 2011
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Jul 7, 2011 9:58:55 GMT -5
www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/retail/top-selling-digital-songs-of-2011-so-far-1005267112.storyTop Selling Digital Songs of 2011 So Far July 05, 2011 By Keith Caulfield ( keith_caulfield), Los Angeles With 2011 half-over, Katy Perry's "E.T." (featuring Kanye West) reigns as the year's biggest selling digital song in the U.S., shifting 4,120,000 units according to Nielsen SoundScan. "E.T." is one of two titles to have sold more than 4 million downloads this year. Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" is the other, with 4,089,000. It's the first time we've had a song -- much less two -- hit 4 million in download sales this quickly in a year. At this point last year, the top selling song was Train's "Hey, Soul Sister," with 3,381,000. This year, 52 songs have sold more than a million downloads, up from the 39 at this point last year. Digital track sales continue to rise, as a robust 660.80 million tracks have been sold -- a gain of 11% versus the mid-point last year (597.44 million). Mid-Year 2011 Top Digital Songs Artist, Title, Year to Date Sales* 1 Katy Perry feat. Kanye West E.T. 4,120,000 2 Adele Rolling in the Deep 4,089,000 3 Cee Lo Green F**k You (Forget You) 3,229,000 4 Lady Gaga Born This Way 3,029,000 5 Rihanna S&M 2,734,000 6 Jennifer Lopez feat. Pitbull On the Floor 2,669,000 7 The Black Eyed Peas Just Can't Get Enough 2,462,000 8 Chris Brown feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes Look at Me Now 2,442,000 9 Bruno Mars Grenade 2,355,000 10 Katy Perry Firework 2,283,000 11 Pitbull feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer Give Me Everything 2,232,000 12 P!nk F**kin' Perfect 2,188,000 13 Ke$ha Blow 2,159,000 14 Dr. Dre feat. Eminem & Skylar Grey I Need a Doctor 2,071,000 15 Bruno Mars The Lazy Song 2,064,000 16 Lupe Fiasco The Show Goes On 2,052,000 17 Jeremih feat. 50 Cent Down On Me 2,042,000 18 Britney Spears Till the World Ends 1,989,000 19 Wiz Khalifa Black and Yellow 1,959,000 20 LMFAO feat. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock Party Rock Anthem 1,806,000 *SOURCE: NIELSEN SOUNDSCAN, year to date sales through the week ending July 3, 2011
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2011 7:13:13 GMT -5
bump - this looks more useful than the duplicate artice in the other thread
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Jul 10, 2011 7:48:04 GMT -5
Can't imagine Ms. Adele will have a challenger for top-selling title of the year, especially as her album's likely to keep selling decently throughout the year.
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Post by onefrayedrepublic on Jul 10, 2011 9:56:08 GMT -5
Why are catalogue sales up so much? Industry still has problems if the current artists keep selling less and less.
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Jul 10, 2011 10:10:30 GMT -5
^Sale-pricing.
iTunes has been discounting catalog albums to $3.99.
Walmart has album for $5 and $9. I think they have $7 price point as well.
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rosemoor
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Post by rosemoor on Jul 10, 2011 10:18:29 GMT -5
Does Adele have a chance passing Katy? It would be cool if Adele on top of both single and album chart.
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leoapp
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Post by leoapp on Jul 10, 2011 11:34:52 GMT -5
Can't imagine Ms. Adele will have a challenger for top-selling title of the year, especially as her album's likely to keep selling decently throughout the year. Who was the last to act to top both Album and Single for Billboard year end? (I knew Mariah didn't do it in 2005, beaten by 50 Cent for album) Will Adele become the first? :o |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 10, 2011 11:38:05 GMT -5
Can't imagine Ms. Adele will have a challenger for top-selling title of the year, especially as her album's likely to keep selling decently throughout the year. Who was the last to act to top both Album and Single for Billboard year end? (I knew Mariah didn't do it in 2005, beaten by 50 Cent for album) Will Adele become the first? :o No it's been done several times. The last time was Usher in 2004. Here's a list of all of the examples of years where the #1 year-end single was released from the #1 year-end album. 2004 Usher ("Yeah!" from Confessions) 2003 50 Cent ("In Da Club" from Get Rich or Die Trying) 1994 Ace of Base ("The Sign" from The Sign) 1993 Whitney Houston/The Bodyguard ("I Will Always Love You" from The Bodyguard) 1988 George Michael ("Faith" from Faith) 1970 Simon & Garfunkel ("Bridge Over Troubled Water" from Bridge Over Troubled Water) |
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Envoirment
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Post by Envoirment on Jul 10, 2011 12:27:53 GMT -5
Just as importantly, digital track sales have seen robust growth, jumping 10.6% to 660.8 million units, up from 597.5 million units in the corresponding period last year, when digital song downloads barely finished with positive growth. That should be 9.6%. Thanks for posting this though. Hopefully album sales will remain positive till the end of the year. :) |
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leoapp
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Post by leoapp on Jul 10, 2011 12:42:36 GMT -5
Who was the last to act to top both Album and Single for Billboard year end? (I knew Mariah didn't do it in 2005, beaten by 50 Cent for album) Will Adele become the first? :o No it's been done several times. The last time was Usher in 2004. Here's a list of all of the examples of years where the #1 year-end single was released from the #1 year-end album. 2004 Usher ("Yeah!" from Confessions) 2003 50 Cent ("In Da Club" from Get Rich or Die Trying) 1994 Ace of Base ("The Sign" from The Sign) 1993 Whitney Houston/The Bodyguard ("I Will Always Love You" from The Bodyguard) 1988 George Michael ("Faith" from Faith) 1970 Simon & Garfunkel ("Bridge Over Troubled Water" from Bridge Over Troubled Water) Oh, Thx. :) Practically, Adele will be the first female to achieve this feat (considering Whitney did it with a soundtrack not her studio album) |
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Oprah
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Post by Oprah on Jul 10, 2011 12:48:21 GMT -5
No it's been done several times. The last time was Usher in 2004. Here's a list of all of the examples of years where the #1 year-end single was released from the #1 year-end album. 2004 Usher ("Yeah!" from Confessions) 2003 50 Cent ("In Da Club" from Get Rich or Die Trying) 1994 Ace of Base ("The Sign" from The Sign) 1993 Whitney Houston/The Bodyguard ("I Will Always Love You" from The Bodyguard) 1988 George Michael ("Faith" from Faith) 1970 Simon & Garfunkel ("Bridge Over Troubled Water" from Bridge Over Troubled Water) Oh, Thx. :) Practically, Adele will be the first female to achieve this feat (considering Whitney did it with a soundtrack not her studio album) How exactly does that disqualify her achievement? |
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Cerbius
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Post by Cerbius on Jul 10, 2011 13:05:29 GMT -5
Just as importantly, digital track sales have seen robust growth, jumping 10.6% to 660.8 million units, up from 597.5 million units in the corresponding period last year, when digital song downloads barely finished with positive growth. That should be 9.6%. Thanks for posting this though. Hopefully album sales will remain positive till the end of the year. :) I calculated and it's 10.6%. I think something went wrong with your calculation. |
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Black Jesus
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Post by Black Jesus on Jul 10, 2011 13:08:52 GMT -5
Thank you Adele and GaGa! :)
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David
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Post by David on Jul 10, 2011 13:17:16 GMT -5
Oh, Thx. :) Practically, Adele will be the first female to achieve this feat (considering Whitney did it with a soundtrack not her studio album) How exactly does that disqualify her achievement? It doesn't. Lets just let leoapp live in his own world please. I don't want this discussion to get started again. |
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Rodze
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Post by Rodze on Jul 10, 2011 20:06:32 GMT -5
Does Adele have a chance passing Katy? It would be cool if Adele on top of both single and album chart. She most certainly has and probably will this week or the next one. Last week alone RITD sold 62k more than ET, and it only needs 32k to jump ahead. |
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Jul 11, 2011 7:58:46 GMT -5
50 Cent's album did top Billboard's year-end chart, but Mimi's album was the top seller for the actual year. But, she didn't have a single that was close to being the top seller for 2005. These latest mid-year rankings follow the SoundScan tracking period for the year, not the Billboard one.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 11, 2011 8:04:42 GMT -5
Good point - this is true
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TheJakes
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Post by TheJakes on Jul 11, 2011 9:01:59 GMT -5
I would imagine the dollar value of sales is down even as the unit numbers are up. Everything from $0.99 Gaga alabums to discounts on digital downloads of catalog albums. What this indicates to me is that record labels were overpricing music compared to the actual value consumers place on it. Lower the prices and the consumer will return to paying for music.
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Minor Scratch
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Post by Minor Scratch on Jul 11, 2011 10:44:00 GMT -5
I would imagine the dollar value of sales is down even as the unit numbers are up. Everything from $0.99 Gaga alabums to discounts on digital downloads of catalog albums. What this indicates to me is that record labels were overpricing music compared to the actual value consumers place on it. Lower the prices and the consumer will return to paying for music. That is exactly what its about. Great post. |
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David
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Post by David on Jul 11, 2011 11:04:11 GMT -5
Yeah, I definitely think albums need to be cheaper.
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Honeymoon
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Post by Honeymoon on Jul 11, 2011 22:26:56 GMT -5
I agree, simple law of demand in effect, and also with the economy getting better I feel like people have more disposable income to spend on music now.
And plus with digital music, I don't think a bunch of mp3s should be as expensive as a physical album, especially if they expect it to be a viable market. I respect what Amazon is doing by the pricing of their digital albums, are 99 cent and $3 albums the answer? no, but I think $8 is perfectly fair for a standard mp3 album. Anything over $11 is a bit ridiculous in my opinion, that's what standard physical albums should cost.
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David
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Post by David on Jul 12, 2011 1:36:55 GMT -5
I don't think any new physical album should be more than $10. While being cheaper release week, obviously. Digital albums should be about $8, except cheaper during release week. Also, put singles back at $0.99
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Rodze
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Post by Rodze on Jul 12, 2011 8:28:43 GMT -5
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Post by areyoureadytojump on Jul 12, 2011 10:28:16 GMT -5
^Thanks!
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2011 11:42:59 GMT -5
www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/retail/top-selling-albums-of-2011-so-far-1005267092.storyTop-Selling Albums of 2011 So Far July 05, 2011 By Keith Caulfield ( keith_caulfield), Los Angeles With 2011 half-over, Adele's "21" reigns as the year's biggest selling album in the U.S., shifting 2,517,000 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "21" has moved 2,517,000 copies in the U.S. since its release on Feb. 22 -- through the week ending July 3, the mid-point of the tracking year. It's the only album to have sold more than 2 million in 2011, and one of only two to surpass 1 million. The second is Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," which has moved 1,540,000. (72% of that total was shifted in its debut week, when it started with 1,108,000 -- making it only the 17th album to sell a million in one week since SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.) Mid-Year 2011 Top Albums Artist Title Year to Date Sales* 1 Adele 21 2,517,000 2 Lady Gaga Born This Way 1,540,000 3 Mumford & Sons Sigh No More 982,000 4 Jason Aldean My Kinda Party 763,000 5 Bruno Mars Doo Wops & Hooligans 686,000 6 Justin Bieber Never Say Never: The Remixes (EP) 676,000 7 Chris Brown F.A.M.E. 646,000 8 Various Artists Now 37 637,000 9 Nicki Minaj Pink Friday 609,000 10 Katy Perry Teenage Dream 600,000 11 Rihanna Loud 598,000 12 Britney Spears Femme Fatale 590,000 13 Taylor Swift Speak Now 563,000 14 P!nk Greatest Hits 530,000 15 Justin Bieber My World 2.0 524,000 16 Eminem Recovery 517,000 17 Foo Fighters Wasting Light 497,000 18 Wiz Khalifa Rolling Papers 484,000 19 Lady Antebellum Need You Now 473,000 20 Various Now 38 440,000 *SOURCE: NIELSEN SOUNDSCAN, year to date sales through the week ending July 3, 2011 :o Beyonce could be in the top 20 as early as this week. :'( |
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HolidayGuy
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Post by HolidayGuy on Jul 12, 2011 16:29:40 GMT -5
Thanks for posting the link to the report.
After the top-selling albums and digital albums, the report erroneously has the period covered as 1/4/10-1/2/11- they must have left that in there from the 2010 template. :)
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