Music sales jump in 2006

He's been dead for three years and they've been broken up since 1970, but Johnny Cash and the Beatles were ranked No. 2 and No. 5, respectively, on the list of top-selling artists of 2006.

Cash sold 4.8 million "units," and the Beatles moved 2.8 million, according to Nielsen Soundscan's year-end music industry report. Rascal Flatts was No. 1 with 4.9 million units sold, and Nickelback (3.1 million) and Carrie Underwood (3 million) rounded out the top 5. (That figure includes all of an artist's album sales, not just, for example, sales of Cash's "American V.")

Among other revelations in the year-end wrap-up:

• Overall music purchases reached 1.2 billion in 2006, the highest total ever and the second-straight year that figure has topped 1 billion.
• Growth in overall music sales jumped 19 percent, though total album sales (comprising CDs, cassettes, LPs and digital albums) fell again, by 4.9 percent. The difference between "total" and "overall," according to a representative from Nielsen's marketing company: "Overall includes 'track equivalent albums,' which is a formula we use in order to quantify the digital track sales (we take 10 digital tracks & turn them into an 'album' and then add the 'Track Equivalent Albums' to the physical album total)."
• Digital album sales increased by a whopping 101 percent to 32.6 million, and digital track sales (that is, individual songs) jumped 65 percent to 581.9 million.
• Classical music experienced the greatest growth by genre, with a 22.5 percent increase over 2005 sales. New Age suffered the biggest loss, dropping off 22.7 percent, though rap was a close second at 20.7 percent. R&B sales dropped by 18.4 percent. Combine that with rap's sales decline, and there was a huge drop in sales of so-called urban music in 2006. I wonder whether that represents some sort of cultural sea-change, or if it just reflects the paucity of worthwhile "urban" albums released in 2006.
• Thought you were clever by purchasing the Super Mario Bros. theme as your cell phone ringtone? Well, you were one of 747,900 people who had the same idea, making that ringtone the most-purchased polyphonic tone of the year. Don't get too haughty, "Pink Panther" fans: there were 347,312 of you.
• Album sales at independent music stores fell again. This year, indie stores represented 6 percent of all albums sold, down from 7 percent in 2005 and 9 percent in 2004. Will the demise of Tower Records help the indie stores in 2007? Here's hoping.

Comments

[joe]

Let's just hope hiphop sales increses next year. no wait 1st lets hope somebody starts making some good hiphop again first

[srippy]

heck, tupac put out ANOTHER album according to the best buy circular.

that dude don't stop.

[Derek Warren]

I never wanted to believe what I had read the last 10 years or so, but indie stores' days are numbered. They're slowly, but surely, going away, one by one. They just cannot compete with Best Buy buying direct from WEA and selling cds at a loss and FYE opening up a store in every decent part of well-traveled real estate.

Newbury Comics just opened up in Manchester, at the mall of all places, and it's a nice change of pace. I can go in and buy that odd Killing Joke reissue or that Boomtown Rats import, things Best Buy and FYE both would never stock. But, again, it's a mall, there is some markup (not as bad as FYE), and the used stock is next to nothing. Not to mention...no used vinyl, rare vinyl, etc.

The major cities and the established college music towns will be ok, but this area is doomed. I hate to say this, but I wonder when the day is when Walt closes up Brass City Records because business is too slow and he's run out of patience?

Eric replies: Aargh, bite your tongue!

[ChrisB.]

I'd have more hope for my independent record seller if FYE wasn't putting a store in every town. I have a friend who operates a couple of stores in CT and I'm to the point where I'm uncomfortable asking him "how's business."