US Album Sales Suffer Drop

Big names hit

Album sales in the United States have suffered a spectacular drop recently with recent figures showing a drop of more than 25% on the same period in 2008.

With economic data showing that we are already in a recession, the latest figures do not make good reading for industry big wigs. Among the big names hit was the soundtrack to the vampire movie ‘Twilight’.

Number one on the Billboard chart this week is Taylor Swift’s ‘Fearless’ which sold a measly 72,000 copies. Rock bores Nickelback climbed to number two while Kanye West remained at number three with controversial recent album ‘808s And Heartbreak’.

Many commentators in the industry believe that with less money in their pocket people will shift from buying luxury items to essentials. In the music industry, this could trigger a swing from complete albums to downloading a few track from iTunes – watch out for the new singles figures.

The chart’s compiler, Neilson SoundScan, said overall sales were down 26.5% on the same week in 2008.

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