Music 2007

Josh Groban's X-mas album was 2007's top seller?  Is that a sign of the apocalypse? 

Nielsen SoundScan recently released its sales and performance data for 2007. Album sales declined fifteen per cent, compared with 2006. The record business has seen slumps before: revenues fell substantially in the early eighties.

What’s most striking is the fact that the shrinking industry is now almost completely Balkanized. The top ten artists played on radio were seven country acts, two hard-rock bands, and a pop star named Justin Timberlake. The top ten streamed videos were largely for songs by young women who sing R. & B. Eight of the top ten ringtones were hip-hop. Two of the year’s best-selling records offer vivid illustration of how the market has fragmented further while remaining alive.

The Eagles’ “Long Road Out of Eden,” released on their own independent label and available only at Wal-Mart, sold 2.6 million copies. The biggest-selling album of the year was Josh Groban’s “Noël,” which sold 3.7 million copies despite being released in October. SoundScan does not track the popularity of stocking stuffers, but Groban’s album was likely the champ.