The major labels were hoping that loading up for a serious holiday week thanks to releases from Kanye, Guns N’ Roses, Ludacris, and The Killers would lead to blockbuster sales, but early reports have overall sales down up to 30%. And to add insult to injury, the projected number one album, Kanye’s 808’s and Heartbreak, is said to have moved only 425,000 to 450,000 copies, instead of the projected 700-900,000 copies that were initially hoped.

Guns N’ Roses' Chinese Democracy also had disappointing sales: It has moved an estimated 250,000-600,000 copies considerably less than the 750,000 copies initially assumed.

Obviously this is a big disappointment, as it seems that the recession has made people even less likely to pay for music. The official charts and sales reports will be announced tomorrow. [Billboard]