US 2014 sales: albums drop 14.4%, digital tracks 12.9%

More negative news for the recorded music industry in the US as Nielsen Soundscan reported that album sales fell 14.4% and digital track sales fell 12.9% in the first nine months of the year (via Billboard).

In 2014 not a single artist album has hit the one-million sales mark, with Beyonce’s self-titled release sitting at the top of the pile with 776k sales. This compares negatively with 2013 when five albums had sold over a million units.

Similarly, in 2014 so far 23 fewer tracks reached the one-million sales mark, 60 instead of 83 in 2013.

Universal Music leads the pack in terms of market share, with 38.3% ad the closest competitor - Sony Music - is a whopping 10.5% behind.

The independent market thankfully is thriving. Billboard reports that by ownership the sector has about a 35% market share, whilst Nielsen Soundscan currently classes independent releases distributed by majors to be sales by the major (an approach that has been criticised in the past). This approach would limit the indies’ share to 13.7%.

Other bright spots include the performance of independent music stores, only down 2.3%, and the continued resurgence of vinyl, up 47.5%.

Whilst Q3’s figures appear to be pretty bad news for the future of recorded music, it’s important to recognise that Nielsen Soundscan only reports on sales and not on streams.

Streaming is fast becoming mainstream in the United States as consumers are moving to access-based services. There’s a good chance that once the streaming figures for 2014 are reported - together with how much streaming services paid to labels and artists - the music industry may be able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Since it has been made clear that Adele won’t be releasing any new music in 2014, the US industry’s gotta hope that Taylor Swift can work her usual magic and can give albums sales a lift with "1989", slated for release on the 27th of October 2014.

(Andrea Leonelli)