New industry figures from market analysts Nielsen show that rock music is the most popular genre of music when it comes to album sales.
32% of all albums sold (that’s CD, digital and vinyl) were from the rock genre, as were a massive 93 of the top 100 vinyl sold so far this year.
It demonstrates the artistic intent of many rock artists to build their albums an entire body of work, unlike with pop genres which currently lead the way with digital-specific sales, likely through mass single-track purchases.
Meanwhile, the digital re-issue of the
Beatles catalog on
iTunes last last year has provided a resurgence in digital sales for older music.
Our theory is that Beatles fans signed up to iTunes to get the iPod friendly tracks, but went on to collect digital editions of their other favourite albums.
Other statistics released show that music sales are up in the US this year, particularly thanks to digital sales. And while vinyl might only count for 1.2% of physical sales, they’ve becoming increasingly popular since 2006 when less than 1 million were sold - an impressive 3.6 million are expected to move from shelved this year.
It’s hard to pin down the reason for growth in vinyl sales, but this writer speculates that the special edition of Radiohead’s "In Rainbows," which came with a 2 x LP version of the album, left many alternative music fans looking for record decks to play their Radiohead purchase - resulting in further vinyl purchases to make more use of their new decks. After all, the year it came out, "In Rainbows" was the highest selling record, improving overall vinyl sales by 90%.
The Nielsen figures go on to show how Record Store Day gave a massive boost to the music economy after heavy promotion and participation from major artists. 180,000 more units were sold that week compared to the previous week.
The improving music economy will be a comforting sign to many labels and artists, and the strides forward in the music streaming sector should add further revenue to what was previously described as a failing industry. Either than, or it will somehow cannibalise regular music sales.
Some might argue that the "little man" - artists and independent businesses outside the elitist high-end label circle - continue to be left out when it comes to substantial rewards in the evolving music models, with most money going to an elite few at the top of the chain. Today we reported on Limewire paying $105 million in damages to the major record labels, marking the end of an era - but will the artists see much of it?
So let’s spark up a discussion with our beloved UG readers:
Are you pleased to see music sales increasing? Have you turned away from illegal downloads, and why - maybe special edition releases have brought you back? Or maybe you’ve taken to the convenience of a streaming subscription?
By Tom Davenport
