Factoid

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

According to this morning's paper, 2008 is set to be the highest-selling year for singles EVER, with total sales topping 100m for the first time (compared to 1979's 89m). Obviously physical sales are a miniscule proportion of this but even so, that's a lot of sales. (And christ only knows how many non-sale downloads are going on).

I was a bit surprised by this!

Comments

[damnspynovels.livejournal.com]

exactly. if an album has 10 tracks on it, and i only download 9 of them, are they all eligible for a singles chart placing?

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

As far as I know, yes! And indeed if you dl'ed all 10 individually! But from an economic point of view you would be mental if you did this, so people tend not to. Perhaps Arctic Monkeys fans can't do sums.

[damnspynovels.livejournal.com]

what's therefore peculiar about this, if it's true - is that it might possibly change the way albums are compiled, like prog rock might've been accused of doing.

will we see more intro songs, track transistions and outros available as 'album only tracks' on releases simply to increase the value of a single album. ie, a 27 track album where by 10 of those tracks are album only songs (but they're filler anyway), therefore increasing the value of an album's £10 sticker price over the purchase of 17 individual tracks at £1 each?

[bengraham.livejournal.com]

On a sort-of related note, the iPod is the most popular music playing device in the world, yes? And most people that I know who own an iPod leave it set to shuffle most of the time, because it's irritating to have to go backwards and forwards through menus to turn shuffle off (unless there's a shortcut I don't know). Therefore, when I get a new album, more often than not, I end up listening to it in an incorrect order. And gradually, as I become more familiar with it, I will rate the songs and stop listening to the ones I don't like. So I end up with the cherry-picked random mix of songs off the album anyway. Not sure where I'm going with this point... I guess just adding to the sentiment of "the album is dying and needs some new thinking to reinvigorate it".

[damnspynovels.livejournal.com]

you're right, and this kind entirely fucks up my theory that we'll see more filler crap to increase perceived value of an album, because out of context / shuffled, it'll be meaningless.