There is a bunch statistical gobbledygook in Billboard's breakdown down Q1 music sales, but we'll try to make sense of it. The gist: CD sales are down, digital sales are up but they still don't make up for the lack of CD sales. Compared to the first quarter of last year:
• Total scans, including digital tracks, are up 14.9% to 386.3 million...
• Individual track sales are up 28.7% to 281.4 million.
• If track downloads are converted into albums at ten tracks per unit (albums w/TEA), album sales are down 4.5% to 132.7 million units.
• Excluding TEA albums, within overall albums, digital albums are up 36.2% to 15.7 million.
• CD albums are down 16% to 88.4 million.
• 975,000 people love Jack Johnson.
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How 'bout vinyl? It was up 22% in 2007 (800,000 sold) from 2006 (600,000 sold).
I am responsible for 42% of that growth.
Which is, combined, still less than the total sales of the most recent Jack Johnson release.
I really think the dude is making the same album over and over again with new cover art and song titles. But that's just me.
i'm fascinated in the paradigm shift with live nation signing big deals with the likes of u2, madonna, and jay-z. what is particularly interesting to me is the length of these agreements... jay-z signed to 15 year deal. he's nearly 40. i can't imagine a 50 year old jay-z doing is gangsta schtick and pulling in huge crowds. then again, the stones have proven there's a market for geriatric acts well into their 60s.
it'll be interesting to see when they adjust their business model and start signing younger, less established acts and see how they promote and develop them.