Sales of classic albums have overtaken new albums this year for the first time in history.
'Old albums' are classified as records that have been on sale for longer than 18 months. They sold 76.6 million over the last six months in the US, compared to 73.9 million new albums.
The biggest sellers have been from Whitney Houston and Guns N' Roses, most likely because of the press surrounding Houston's death and Gn'R's induction to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year.
Adele has been the strongest seller in the '
new albums' category.
Nielson analyst David Bakula says that old albums sales have been boosted by retailers dropping the price of old records to around $5, which he thinks is bringing in brand new customers to the music world. "I really, truly do believe that there probably is a consumer that is buying music here that wasn't buying music in the past," he said (via NME).
Digital sales are up by 17.3%, with single sales up by 6%, helping combat the decline in traditional CD sales. 93.6 million singles were sold in the first half of 2012, up from 88 million during the same period last year.
