Rolling Stone:
Make no mistake, the album is fighting for its life.
Sales of music’s most beloved format are in free fall in the United States this year. According to figures published by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), the value of total stateside album sales in the first half of 2018 (across download, CD and vinyl) plummeted by 25.8 percent when compared with the first half of 2017.
If that percentage decline holds for the full year, and there’s every indication it will, annual U.S. album sales in 2018 will end up at half the size of what they were as recently as 2015. To put it more plainly, U.S. consumers will spend around half a billion dollars less on albums this year than they did in 2017.
I don’t think this trend is reversible. Should it be? Is it time for the album to die? Thanks to Ted Landau for the link.
All those who sell music have been pushing their customers to subscribe to music for the same time period of this decline. I wonder if the total amount of money being spent on music has declined during this same time period. I used to buy a good bit of music but I have purchased maybe a handful of songs since I began subscribing to Apple Music. I really do like to be able to try out any song I want, but I do think I’m spending more on music at $14.99 per month than I was with regular iTunes purchases before this.
If only there was some way I could buy 11 albums for 1 penny. (god I’m old)
You and me both. I actually did shifts at a typesetting shop where those ads were composed.
Is it time for the album to die? No. Is it time for filler albums with only 1 or 2 good songs to die? Absolutely.
Sigh…as I know what you’re referring to…so am I… 🙂