Nielsen Soundscan has been keeping track of album sales in the U.S. since 1991. In that time, it has witnessed a massive drop in overall sales with the onset of digital downloads. However, “until last week, they’d never seen old records outsell new ones,” writes OC Weekly.
During the first six months of 2012, 76.6 million “catalog records” were sold, meaning albums that were released more than 18 months ago, compared to 73.9 million current albums.
Of those catalog titles, Guns N’ Roses’ Greatest Hits and four of Whitney Houston’s records sold the most.
This likely has much to do with the fact that retailers are selling those older titles for cheaper prices, often for around $5.99.
“Though album sales dropped 3.2 percent in the first half of the year as compared to the first half of 2011 — with 150.5 million albums sold — digital album sales (current and catalog combined) grew 13.8 percent and physical albums stayed basically flat, shedding just 0.6 percent,” notes OC Weekly.
Jason Hughes, the owner of Ballard’s Sonic Boom, says that new albums should not be sold for more than $12.99. On the other hand, they should not be sold for less, either.
“As you lower the price of the CD, you’re lowering the value of someone’s art,” notes Hughes. “At what point do you say ‘We’re going to sell them for $9.99 and [artists are] not going to be able to make a living off their music, or they’re going to have to tour 11 and a half months a year?'”
Nielsen Soundscan has been keeping track of album sales in the U.S. since 1991. In that time, it has witnessed a massive drop in overall sales with the onset of digital downloads. However, “until last week, they’d never seen old records outsell new ones,” writes OC Weekly.
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