Soundscan data for last week shows a major slowdown in US album sales, prompting a new slew of sky is falling prophecy from the music press. Overall sales including both physical and digital album sales, reached 9.41 million units. That's a drop of 17.6% over the same week in 2006. Maybe more insulting, the soundtrack for Dreamgirls was the number one selling album, with only 66,000 units moved.
I don't know that everyone should start panicking. Any week in which a soundtrack that, at best, appeals to a narrow and unpredictable audience, makes the top spot should be a sign that the numbers you're viewing are an anomaly.
1. The last two release dates in January have bigger-than-usual titles for this time of year. John Mellencamp. Katharine McPhee. Saliva. Some girl named Norah Jones. On the indie side, The Shins and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah will sel very well. While January certainly started out slowly, it'll get better.
Posted at 1:36PM on Jan 11th 2007 by Glenn