| U.S.
album sales slid for a seventh time in eight years in 2008 as
growth in the digital arena, one of the few bright spots in
the ailing music industry, slowed, according to data issued
on Wednesday.
Total
album sales fell 14 percent to 428.4 million units during
the 52-week period ended December 28, according to retail
data collected by tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan.
This follows
a 15 percent drop in 2007, and sets a new low since the firm
began monitoring sales in 1991. Sales have plummeted 45 percent
from the industry's high-water mark of 785.1 million units
in 2000, due largely to Internet piracy and competition from
other forms of entertainment such as video games.
This year,
the industry also faced an economic recession.
Digital
downloads, through online retailers such as Apple Inc's iTunes
store, have taken on greater importance to the industry, but
the impressive growth of recent years is waning. Digital track
sales rose 27 percent to a record 1.07 billion units, but
the growth was slower than the 45 percent jump in 2007. Digital
album sales rose 32 percent to 65.8 million units, after a
53 percent jump in 2007.
Ringtones
are also a major new focus. But purchases of the top 100 mastertone
ringers slid 33 percent to 43.8 million units. Only one mastertone
broke the 2 million mark -- rapper Lil Wayne's "Lollipop."
Last year, three did.
Lil Wayne
also took honors for this year's top-selling album, moving
2.9 million copies of "Tha Carter III." Last year's
No. 1 album was pop vocalist Josh Groban's "Noel"
with 3.7 million copies.
Only three
other albums sold more than 2 million copies this year: English
rock band Coldplay's "Viva la Vida" and country
singer Taylor Swift's "Fearless" each with about
2.1 million, and rocker Kid Rock's 2007 release "Rock'N'Roll
Jesus" with 2 million. Last year, eight albums sold more
than 2 million copies.
Swift,
19, was the biggest artist of 2008, selling 4 million copies,
mostly of "Fearless" and her 2006 self-titled debut.
Anglo-Australian rock band AC/DC followed with 3.4 million
copies, selling almost as many of their old albums as they
did of their first release in more than eight years, "Black
Ice," which was No. 5 with 1.9 million copies.
Overall
music sales, including albums, singles, music video and digital
tracks, rose 10.5 percent to 1.5 billion units, after 14 percent
growth in 2007 and a 19 percent jump in 2006
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