Album Sales Decline Year Over Year but the Holiday Music Prevails

by harringtola | December 1, 2008 at 09:44 pm

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Although album sales are not yet reported for the end of 2008, early signs indicate they will be down but might not turn out to be as bad as 2007.

Album sales for the first quarter of 2008 are down by double digits, but that's significantly less than 2007's decline. So there's more than one way to look at the results.

The decline in 2007 was far more significant than in earlier years.

Album sales dropped 15% in the first half of 2007 compared with the same period last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The decline is more drastic than in previous midyears: 2006 saw a 4% drop compared with 2005, which was 10% lower than 2004.

US Album sales have seen a decline for several years in a row as sales of digital music continue to soar. However, according researcher Nielsen SoundScan, downloaded tracks fail to make up for a continued decline in album sales.

Interestingly enough the best seller of the year for 2007 was Josh Groban's Noel.

Josh Groban's "Noel" was the year's biggest seller at 3.7 million units; it was the only disc to top 3 million in sales and becomes the first holiday album to top the charts since Soundscan started tracking sales in 1991.

Will this year have a holiday album that tops the sales records for 2008? I really hope so.

There are some new (2008) recordings by Harry Conick JR "What A Night, A Christmas Album" and Melissa Ethridge's "A Thought for Christmas", "Songs of Joy and Peace" by Yo-Yo Ma, "And Winter Came" by Enya as well as many many more for that matter.

One of the great things about purchasing an album of Holiday music, is that consumers are free of all their normal musical preferences and predjudices. They might pick up an Elvis Presley or Celine Dion when their usual music genre is jazz or classical or their favorite artist is Rob Thomas. They often pick up a holiday classic that has stood the test of time and has been selling strong for many many years. The choice might be a vocal but it might also be an instrumental, such as Mannhiem Steamroller. It is all about lifting spirits and feeling good.

One of the opinions on why album sales decline as single digital downloads soar is that the album has lost it's significance in the digital world. That may be but as with most everything thing else, the rules change for music when we are celebrating the holidays. I hope this year is no exception to that rule.

Enjoy the holiday season in style and with Music in your Heart!

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