According to the Nielsen Soundscan numbers released today, the soundtrack to something called "High School Musical" sold more copies than any other album in 2006, with sales of around 3.7 million copies. Rascal Flatts and Carrie Underwood were the only other artists that reached triple-platinum status.
Industry-wide, overall album sales drooped 5% to 588.1 million units for the year as a whole, though when digital download were added--using an equivalent measure of 10 digital track downloads per album--a total of almost 1.2 billion units were sold, a 20.8% increase. Whatever makes label execs sleep better at night. Major labels accounted for nearly nine out of ten albums sold.
Only one category enjoyed improved sales in 2006, as deep catalog album sales inched up by 0.4%, proving yet again that the record-buying public would rather buy repackaged versions of something they've already owned than experiencing something new. Maybe it's time to go back to artist development rather than clinging to the hot trends? Anyone listening out there?