Music Sales on the Rise Again
For the first time in seven years album sales have gone up by seven percent and it is in part thanks to artists such as Lady Gaga, Adele and Katy Perry. To make matters even more interesting, it is only halfway through the year, and last year the sales were a little less than a hundred and fifty-four million, with this year showing sales of a hundred and fifty-five million within the first six months. When looking at the Nielson SoundScan midyear report, it is apparent that the decline in album sales that the industry was experiencing is slowly seeing a turnaround.
Over the last few years the music industry has been experiencing a freefall in album sales numbers. When compared to the sales in 2009, last year’s sales had dropped by no less than eleven percent. Not only have some of the ladies in the industry assisted in increasing album sales, but they have also played a part in boosting digital sales. Digital sales seem to be making a remarkable impact on the industry. Eminem set a benchmark for artists in digital sales as well with his album Recovery, as it sold more than one million digital copies. Digital track sales are growing by almost eleven percent per year and this year was a landmark year as both E.T. (Katy Perry) and Rolling in the Deep (Adele) sold more than four million digital album copies within a six month period. What is astonishing is that the market for vinyl sales is on the increase, showing that there are still many people who prefer the old technology and listening to their vinyl records, seeing to it that sales have increased by forty percent.
So far this year, the top ten selling albums are 21 (Adele), Born this Way (Lady Gaga), Teenage Dream (Katy Perry), Sigh No More (Mumford & Sons), Doo-Wops & Hooligans (Bruno Mars), F.A.M.E (Chris Brown), Never Say Never: The Remixes (Justin Bieber), My Kinda Pary (Jason Aldean) and Pink Friday (Nicki Minaj). The singles that have exploded onto the charts and sales, include S&M (Rihanna), Firework (Katy Perry), On the Floor (Jennifer Lopez), Rollling in the Deep (Adele), Grenade (Bruno Mars), Just Can’t Get Enough (Black Eyed Peas), Born this Way (Lady Gaga) and Look at Me Now (Chris Brown).
