Album Sales Down 15 Percent in '07

(FROM VARIETY) – Sales of all U.S. albums, both physical CDs and digital downloads, were down again in 2007 despite the continued upward momentum in the digital realm. Sales plummeted 15 percent last year to 500.5 million from the 588.2 million sold in 2006, marking the seventh consecutive year of decline. The last time sales increased was 2000, which saw 800 million sales. On the other hand, sales of individual digital track downloads rose 45 percent to 844.2 million in 2007, and digital album sales jumped 53 percent to 50 million. Digital sales now account for 10 percent of all albums sold, nearly doubling the 5.5 percent figure in 2006. Physical CD sales did poorly, however, dropping 19 percent. Josh Groban's Noel was the year's top seller at 3.7 million units, followed by High School Musical 2 at 2.96 million, the Eagles' Long Road out of Eden at 2.6 million, and Alicia Keys' As I Am at 2.54 million. Among genres, rap took the biggest hit year-over-year, tanking 30 percent in 2007 to 41.7 million albums sold. (Variety)