Massive hits fuel music industry in the US

How nice to open the year with more good news about the music industry. This time from the US and the best thing about it is that all numbers are up in music sales. As per the latest Billboard Bulletin dated Jan. 4, with reports from Nielsen Music, music consumption went up by 12.5 percent to 636.65 million units. That is up from 566.1 million in 2016.

Many of you doubtless remember how the music business was described as a goner, toast, dead beat, etc. only a few years ago. Well, it is now back, and as the cliché goes, it is with a vengeance.

The figure mentioned includes traditional album sales and equivalent album units from track album sales and on-demand video and audio streams. Ten tracks sold from one album even if those are of the same song, is equal to one album unit while 1,500 on demand streams is equivalent to one streamed album unit.

The same report mentioned that Ed Sheeran’s Divide is Nielsen Music’s Top Album of 2017 with 2.764 million equivalent album units. Kendrick Lamar’s Damn is second with 2.747 million sales, followed by Reputation by Taylor Swift with 2.336 million sales. Note that Reputation hit the stores only last Nov. 10, a scant six weeks before the year ended and when these figures were tallied up.

Despacito by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee feat. Justin Bieber is the most streamed song of the year with 1.322.799 billion on-demand audio and video streams. In a very far second place is Shape Of You by Sheeran with 999.694 million streams followed by XO Tour Llif3 by Lil Uzi Vert with 932.820 million streams in third place.

More items to hearten a music lover’s heart. Vinyl sales account for 14.32 million in sales last year. So you can expect to see more and more LP editions of the new releases. And the biggest-selling vinyl artist of the year is ta-da, The Beatles. The Fab Four occupies rungs one and two in the chart with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 72,000 units and Abbey Road with 66,000 units sold in first and second place. In third place is The Guardians of the Galaxy Awesome Mix Vol. 2 Soundtrack album which sold 62,000 units.

Meanwhile Swift, Beyoncé and Sheeran are the top hitmakers in the first chart of 2018. Swiftie’s Reputation is the No. 1 selling album while the Perfect duet by Beyoncé and Sheeran tops the Hot 100. Incidentally, Sheeran’s local gig is now set on April 8 at the Mall of Asia. 

The Top 20 songs in the Hot 100 Chart are: Perfect by Sheeran and Beyoncé; Rock Star by Post Malone feat. 21 Savage; Havana by Camila Cabello feat. Young Thug; No Limit by G-Eazy feat. A$AP Rocky & Cardi B; Thunder by Imagine Dragons; Gucci Gang by Lil Pump; MotorSport by Migos, Nicki Minaj & Cardi B; Too Good At Goodbyes by Sam Smith; Bad At Love by Halsey; Bodak Yellow (Money Moves) by Cardi B.

Love by Kendrick Lamar feat. Zacari; New Rules by Dua Lipa; All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey; Bartier Cardi by Cardi B feat. 21 Savage; Gummo by 6iX9ine; I Fall Apart by Post Malone; Let You Down by NF; Young Dumb & Broke by Khalid; Shape Of You by Sheeran; and Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato.

The Top 20 albums are: Reputation by Swift; ¸Divide by Sheeran; Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho by Huncho Jack; Revival by Eminem; The Greatest Showman, the motion picture soundtrack starring Hugh Jackman; A Pentatonix Christmas by Pentatonix; The Thrill Of It All by Sam Smith; The Beautiful & Damned by G-Eazy; DAMN by Kendrick Lamar; Stoney by Post Malone.

Evolve by Imagine Dragons; Christmas by Michael Bublé; The Anthology: Part 1, The First Five Years by Garth Brooks; Luv Is Rage 2 by Lil Uzi Vert; American Teen by Khalid; From A Room: Volume 2 by Chris Stapleton; What Makes You Country by Luke Bryan; Merry Christmas by Mariah Carey; That’s Christmas To Me by Pentatonix; and Hamilton: An American Musical feat. the original Broadway cast. 

And to close, here are the hit Christmas tunes of the 2017 Holiday Season: All I Want For Christmas Is You by Carey; Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee; It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year by Andy Williams; The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) by Nat King Cole; A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives; Last Christmas by Wham!; Feliz Navidad by Jose Feliciano; Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms; Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow by Dean Martin; and Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer by Gene Autry.

Just a note to show how much of a nostalgia market Christmas music is: Save for two, Mariah Carey and Jose Feliciano, all of these hit recordings are by artists who have already departed for the great beyond.