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Survey: Digital Music Sales Soaring

By BetaNews Staff, BetaNews

July 6, 2006, 3:45 PM

Digital music sales may finally have enough impetus to boost the industry, according to data released Thursday by Nielsen SoundScan. While physical album sales declined some 4.2 percent, sales of digital albums soared by 126 percent in the first half of 2006. Overall, the music industry grew slightly by about a tenth of a percent. By the numbers, 270.6 million physical albums and 14.7 million digital albums were sold so far this year, versus 282.6 million and 6.4 million in the first half of 2005.

According to Nielsen, the top selling album is the soundtrack to the Disney Movie "High School Musical," which sold 2.6 million copies. Rascal Flatts' "Me and My Gang" follows in second, with about 2 million copies sold; third is James Blunt's "Back to Bedlam" with 1.7 million; Mary J. Blige's "The Breakthrough" is fourth with 1.5 million; and Carrie Underwood's "Some Hearts" rounds out the top five at 1.4 million.

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By parkstats

posted Jul 9, 2006 - 8:05 AM

I agree. I can't stand the watery mp3 sound. I shoot for FLAC only. In this day and age you can download a whole CD in full quality flac via Bit Torrent in no time.

Check Out my Collection: http://flac.btorrentz.com/forum.asp?id=8990778

Score: 0

By aredo

edited Jul 7, 2006 - 12:32 PM

If they would sell at very cheap prices and no DRM stuff then they would sell 3 to 5 times more, at least.
Cheap prices means $3-5 for a full Album CD in CD-Audio ISO, packed with some lossless encoder.

Score: 0

By Galway

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 3:12 AM

More and more people are only interested in music on the move, and this proves it.

The people downloading this crap wouldnt know hifi if it hit them in the face. Most think the local night club sound system is the dogs danglies because its got big base bins and shakes the room. The DJ probebly plays all tracks from a collection of 5 CD's of MP3 tracks and noone is any wiser.

Score: 0

By Pixelsmack

posted Jul 7, 2006 - 1:15 AM

Boys, boys, lowfi easy access music is the way it is for the current generation and the next.

We're just all old-and-busted. Let the new-hotness have their fun.

And really, to them, we don't sound any different preaching CD sound over mp3 or AAC than the previous did saying, "records sound better than CDs"

;)

Rock on.

Score: 0

By fewt

posted Jul 6, 2006 - 5:32 PM

This can't be! Everyone steals music remember?!

Just in that last thread .. about music ..

LOL

Score: 0

By PC_Tool

posted Jul 6, 2006 - 8:31 PM

We're all pirates until proven innocent.

you can't fool me. I can see your eye-patch. ;)

Score: 0

By tankist

edited Jul 6, 2006 - 4:55 PM

and it is not only low audio quaity. this entire "music" content is junk.

parents need to teach their children value of money ( i dont see anyone else buying that sh...t)

Score: 0

By roj

posted Jul 6, 2006 - 4:04 PM

Gawd Almighty but are there ever a lot of stupid people out there. They pay an overinflated price for lower-than-CD-qualtity content content to companies with minimal (in comaptrison to retail) carrying costs and they are severely limited in what they can do with that content.

I know P.T. Barnum didn't say it, but it is attributed to him:

"There's a sucker born every minute".