NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS, the entertainment industry's leading data information systems, announced the 2012 year-end U.S. music sales figures for the 12-month period of January 2, 2012 through December 30, 2012. Nielsen SoundScan measures U.S. point-of-sale of recorded music product. Nielsen BDS tracks U.S. radio airplay and music streams. Both systems power many of the Billboard charts.
For 2012, sales of albums and track equivalents are down slightly at -1.8% vs. 2011. Digital Albums are up 14% and Digital Tracks are up 5%. CD sales declined 13%.
“Overall music purchases surpassed 1.65 billion units in 2012, up 3.1% vs. the previous record high set in 2011, driven by digital music sales, which continue be a key growth element within the market,” said David Bakula, SVP Client Development, Nielsen. “Digital Album sales are up 14.1% and Digital Track sales are up 5.1%, but despite being down 12.8%, physical is still the dominant album format.
“The big artist stories of the year are Adele and Taylor Swift,” continued Bakula. “Adele’s album, 21, is the first album ever to be the top seller of the year for two consecutive years, and Taylor Swift’s Red has sold more than 3.1 million copies in only 10 weeks, debuting with the highest weekly sales of any title since 2002.”
| Overall Music Sales | Overall Album Sales w/TEA | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
(Transactions: Albums, Singles, Music Video, Digital Tracks – In Millions) |
(Includes All Albums & Track Equivalent Albums – In Millions) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | ||||||||||||||||
| Units Sold | 1,661 | 1,611 | 3.10% | Units Sold | 450 | 458 | -1.80% | ||||||||||||||
| NOTE: TRACK EQUIVALENT ALBUMS EQUATE RATIO OF 10 TRACKS TO 1 ALBUM | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Album Sales |
Physical Music Sales |
||||||||||||||||||||
| (Includes CDs, Cassettes, LPs, Digital Albums - In Millions) | (Includes CDs, Cassettes, LPs - In Millions) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | ||||||||||||||||
| Units Sold | 316 | 331 | -4.40% | Units Sold | 198 | 227 | -12.80% | ||||||||||||||
| Digital Album Sales | Digital Track Sales | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (In Millions) |
(In Millions) – Nielsen SoundScan Sales Record* |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | ||||||||||||||||
| Units Sold | 118 | 103 | 14.10% | Units Sold | 1,336 * | 1,271 | 5.10% | ||||||||||||||
| CD Album Sales |
LP Album Sales |
||||||||||||||||||||
| (CD Albums – In Millions) |
(LP/Vinyl Records – In Millions) – Nielsen SoundScan Sales Record* |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | ||||||||||||||||
| Units Sold | 193 | 224 | -13.50% | Units Sold | 4.6 * | 3.9 | 17.70% | ||||||||||||||
| Holiday Season Album Sales | Holiday Season Track Sales | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (Sales 11/5/2012–12/30/2012 – In Millions) | (Sales 11/5/2012–12/30/2012 – In Millions) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | ||||||||||||||||
| Units Sold | 76 | 81 | -7.10% | Units Sold | 238 | 237 | 0.60% | ||||||||||||||
|
Current vs. Catalog Sales |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| (In Millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall Albums | Digital Albums | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | ||||||||||||||||
| Current | 161 | 179 | -10.20% | Current | 60 | 53 | 13.70% | ||||||||||||||
| Catalog | 155 | 151 | 2.50% | Catalog | 57 | 50 | 14.60% | ||||||||||||||
| Deep Catalog | 123 | 119 | 3.30% | Deep Catalog | 45 | 38 | 18.10% | ||||||||||||||
| Physical Albums | Digital Tracks | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | ||||||||||||||||
| Current | 101 | 126 | -20.30% | Current | 603 | 552 | 9.10% | ||||||||||||||
| Catalog | 97 | 101 | -3.50% | Catalog | 733 | 718 | 2.10% | ||||||||||||||
| Deep Catalog | 78 | 81 | -3.70% | ||||||||||||||||||
| Genre Total Album Sales | Genre Digital Album Sales | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (In Millions) | (In Millions) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | Genre | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | ||||||||||||||
| Alternative | 52.2 | 54.6 | -4.30% | Alternative | 26.7 | 24.4 | 9.50% | ||||||||||||||
| Christian/Gospel* | 22.9 | 23.7 | -3.40% | Christian/Gospel* | 5.3 | 4.8 | 11.10% | ||||||||||||||
| Classical | 7.5 | 9.4 | -20.50% | Classical | 2.6 | 2.3 | 14.60% | ||||||||||||||
| Country | 44.6 | 42.8 | 4.20% | Country | 11.2 | 8.1 | 37.80% | ||||||||||||||
| Dance/Electronic | 8.7 | 9.9 | -12.00% | Dance/Electronic | 4.9 | 4.8 | 1.20% | ||||||||||||||
| Jazz | 8.1 | 11 | -26.20% | Jazz | 2.5 | 2.6 | -3.60% | ||||||||||||||
| Latin | 9.7 | 11.7 | -17.60% | Latin | 1.4 | 1.1 | 23.20% | ||||||||||||||
| Metal | 31.9 | 31.9 | -0.30% | Metal | 11.2 | 9.6 | 16.30% | ||||||||||||||
| New Age | 1.7 | 1.9 | -12.90% | New Age | 0.6 | 0.6 | 13.60% | ||||||||||||||
| R&B | 49.7 | 55.3 | -10.20% | R&B | 16.3 | 14.8 | 10.20% | ||||||||||||||
| Rap | 24.2 | 27.3 | -11.40% | Rap | 10.7 | 9.3 | 14.70% | ||||||||||||||
| Rock | 102.5 | 100.5 | 2.00% | Rock | 43.1 | 36.3 | 18.80% | ||||||||||||||
| Soundtrack | 12.3 | 13 | -5.20% | Soundtrack | 6 | 5.4 | 12.70% | ||||||||||||||
| Genre Digital Track Sales | Digital Track Sales by Decade | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (Total Tracks, Core Genre – In Millions) | (Songs Grouped by Decade of Release – In Millions) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | Genre | 2012 | 2011 | % Chg. | ||||||||||||||
| Blues | 3 | 2.4 | 24.40% | 2010’s | 699 | 542 | 29.00% | ||||||||||||||
| Children | 4.7 | 4.2 | 10.30% | 2000’s | 438 | 535 | -18.20% | ||||||||||||||
| Christian/Gospel | 34.4 | 32.2 | 6.50% | 1990’s | 91 | 87 | 5.00% | ||||||||||||||
| Classical | 7 | 6.7 | 5.20% | 1980’s | 54 | 41 | 32.70% | ||||||||||||||
| Comedy | 5.1 | 6.7 | -23.40% | 1970’s | 33 | 33 | 0.60% | ||||||||||||||
| Country | 162.1 | 143.7 | 12.80% | 1960’s | 16 | 18 | -14.40% | ||||||||||||||
| Dance/Electronic | 53 | 39.1 | 35.60% | 1950’s | 3 | 3 | -6.70% | ||||||||||||||
| Holiday/Seasonal | 12.1 | 13.7 | -11.90% | 1940’s | 1 | 1 | -6.00% | ||||||||||||||
| Jazz | 8.8 | 9.2 | -5.00% | ||||||||||||||||||
| Latin | 21.1 | 20.6 | 2.20% |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| New Age | 1.5 | 1.4 | 10.70% |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| Pop | 303.8 | 305.6 | -0.60% |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| R&B/Hip Hop | 249.3 | 262.1 | -4.90% |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| Rock | 323.8 | 291.7 | 11.00% | ||||||||||||||||||
| World | 8.7 | 4.1 | 110.80% | ||||||||||||||||||
|
Notes: |
|
Current/Catalog Definitions: “current” represents albums 18 months or newer; “catalog” 18 months or older (with some considerations for airplay and billboard chart position). “Deep catalog” is a subset within “catalog”. |
|
Genres: Albums and tracks may appear in more than one genre. Album genres are based on billboard chart eligibility and can differ from the track genre methodology. Not all genres are included in the above tables. |
|
* Includes sales figures tracked by Christian SoundScan. |
2012 YEAR-TO-DATE RECORD COMPANY MARKET SHARE
(REFLECTS THE MARKET SHARE FOR THE ENTIRE ENTITY INCLUDING SUB-DISTRIBUTED COMPANIES FOR THE 52-WEEK YEAR)
UMG COMPLETED THE ACQUISITION OF EMI DISTRIBUTION AT THE BEGINNING OF Q4 2012. MARKET SHARE REPORTING INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING ADJUSTMENTS: ALL OF THE LABELS FORMERLY ASSOCIATED WITH EMI WERE MOVED TO UMGD. EMI WAS CREDITED FOR ALL SALES THROUGH WEEK-ENDING 9/30/2012. ALL MARKET SHARE WAS ATTRIBUTED TO UMGD THEREAFTER.
| Total Albums | Current Total Albums | Catalog Total Albums | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||
| UMG | 32.41% | 29.85% | UMG | 33.87% | 31.85% | UMG | 30.88% | 27.43% | ||||||||||||||||
| SME | 30.25% | 29.29% | SME | 30.65% | 29.56% | SME | 29.82% | 28.97% | ||||||||||||||||
| WMG | 19.15% | 19.13% | WMG | 17.30% | 17.39% | WMG | 21.07% | 21.18% | ||||||||||||||||
| EMI | 6.78% | 9.62% | EMI | 6.82% | 9.07% | EMI | 6.75% | 10.34% | ||||||||||||||||
| OTHERS | 11.42% | 12.11% | OTHERS | 11.36% | 12.14% | OTHERS | 11.48% | 12.07% | ||||||||||||||||
| Physical Albums | Digital Albums | Digital Tracks | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | 2012 | 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||
| UMG | 33.53% | 30.53% | UMG | 30.52% | 28.35% | UMG | 33.76% | 32.97% | ||||||||||||||||
| SME | 32.17% | 31.08% | SME | 27.03% | 25.36% | SME | 26.43% | 26.21% | ||||||||||||||||
| WMG | 18.59% | 18.78% | WMG | 20.08% | 19.91% | WMG | 18.28% | 17.74% | ||||||||||||||||
| EMI | 6.52% | 9.44% | EMI | 7.22% | 10.00% | EMI | 5.90% | 8.26% | ||||||||||||||||
| OTHERS | 9.19% | 10.17% | OTHERS | 15.14% | 16.37% | OTHERS | 15.63% | 14.83% | ||||||||||||||||
|
BILLBOARD’S TOP SELLING ALBUMS & ARTISTS BASED ON NIELSEN SOUNDSCAN U.S. DATA |
||||||||||||||
| 2012 Top Ten Selling Albums w/TEA | 2012 Top Ten Selling Albums + Tracks | |||||||||||||
| (Includes All Albums & Track Equivalent Albums) |
(Transactions: Albums and Digital Tracks) |
|||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Units Sold | Title/Artist | Units Sold | |||||||||||
| 1 | 21 / ADELE | 5,256,000 | 1 | 21 / ADELE | 12,800,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | RED / TAYLOR SWIFT | 3,892,000 | 2 | SOME NIGHTS / FUN. | 11,100,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | UP ALL NIGHT / ONE DIRECTION | 2,334,000 | 3 | RED / TAYLOR SWIFT | 11,000,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | BELIEVE / JUSTIN BIEBER | 2,142,000 | 4 | OVEREXPOSED / MAROON 5 | 10,100,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | SOME NIGHTS / FUN. | 1,923,000 | 5 | BELIEVE / JUSTIN BIEBER | 9,500,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | OVEREXPOSED/ MAROON 5 | 1,896,000 | 6 | PINK FRIDAY...ROMAN RELOADED / NICKI MINAJ | 9,500,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | PINK FRIDAY...ROMAN RELOADED / NICKI MINAJ | 1,657,000 | 7 | KISS / CARLY RAE JEPSEN | 9,300,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | BABEL / MUMFORD & SONS | 1,605,000 | 8 | UP ALL NIGHT / ONE DIRECTION | 8,800,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | TAILGATES & TANLINES / LUKE BRYAN | 1,600,000 | 9 | WILD ONES / FLO RIDA | 8,100,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | TAKE ME HOME / ONE DIRECTION | 1,565,000 | 10 | TAKE CARE / DRAKE | 7,900,000 | |||||||||
| 2012 Top Ten Selling Albums | 2012 Top Ten Selling Artists | |||||||||||||
|
(Combines All Album Sales) |
||||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Units Sold | Artist | Units Sold | |||||||||||
| 1 | 21 / ADELE | 4,414,000 | 1 | ADELE | 5,167,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | RED / TAYLOR SWIFT | 3,107,000 | 2 | TAYLOR SWIFT | 4,062,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | UP ALL NIGHT / ONE DIRECTION | 1,616,000 | 3 | ONE DIRECTION | 2,978,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | BABEL / MUMFORD & SONS | 1,463,000 | 4 | MUMFORD & SONS | 2,149,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | TAKE ME HOME / ONE DIRECTION | 1,340,000 | 5 | JUSTIN BIEBER | 1,897,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | BELIEVE / JUSTIN BIEBER | 1,324,000 | 6 | JASON ALDEAN | 1,855,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | BLOWN AWAY / CARRIE UNDERWOOD | 1,203,000 | 7 | WHITNEY HOUSTON | 1,789,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | TAILGATES & TANLINES / LUKE BRYAN | 1,105,000 | 8 | MAROON 5 | 1,540,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | TUSKEGEE / LIONEL RICHIE | 1,071,000 | 9 | CARRIE UNDERWOOD | 1,497,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | NIGHT TRAIN / JASON ALDEAN | 1,024,000 | 10 | LUKE BRYAN | 1,432,000 | |||||||||
| 2012 Top Ten Selling Digital Songs | 2012 Top Ten Selling Digital Albums | |||||||||||||
| (Combines all digital track versions of a song) | ||||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Units Sold | Title/Artist | Units Sold | |||||||||||
| 1 | SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO… / GOTYE FT. KIMBRA | 6,801,000 | 1 | 21 / ADELE | 1,040,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | CALL ME MAYBE / CARLY RAE JEPSEN | 6,472,000 | 2 | RED / TAYLOR SWIFT | 863,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | WE ARE YOUNG / FUN. FT. JANELLE MONAE | 5,948,000 | 3 | BABEL / MUMFORD & SONS | 778,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | PAYPHONE / MAROON 5 FT. WIZ KHALIFA | 4,757,000 | 4 | UP ALL NIGHT / ONE DIRECTION | 562,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | STARSHIPS / NICKI MINAJ | 3,979,000 | 5 | SOME NIGHTS / FUN. | 558,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | WHAT MAKES YOU BEAUTIFUL / ONE DIRECTION | 3,881,000 | 6 | LUMINEERS / LUMINEERS | 474,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | SOME NIGHTS / FUN. | 3,839,000 | 7 | OVEREXPOSED / MAROON 5 | 451,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | STRONGER / KELLY CLARKSON | 3,823,000 | 8 | MY HEAD IS AN ANIMAL / OF MONSTERS AND MEN | 424,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | GANGNAM STYLE / PSY | 3,592,000 | 9 | MAKING MIRRORS / GOTYE | 387,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | ONE MORE NIGHT / MAROON 5 | 3,461,000 | 10 | SIGH NO MORE / MUMFORD & SONS | 384,000 | |||||||||
| 2012 Top Ten Selling Physical Albums | 2012 Top Ten Selling Vinyl Albums | |||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Units Sold | Title/Artist | Units Sold | |||||||||||
| 1 | 21 / ADELE | 3,374,000 | 1 | BLUNDERBUSS / JACK WHITE | 34,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | RED / TAYLOR SWIFT | 2,244,000 | 2 | ABBEY ROAD / BEATLES | 30,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | UP ALL NIGHT / ONE DIRECTION | 1,053,000 | 3 | BABEL / MUMFORD & SONS | 29,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | TAKE ME HOME / ONE DIRECTION | 982,000 | 4 | EL CAMINO / BLACK KEYS | 25,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | BELIEVE / JUSTIN BIEBER | 979,000 | 5 | SIGH NO MORE / MUMFORD & SONS | 23,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | BLOWN AWAY / CARRIE UNDERWOOD | 880,000 | 6 | BLOOM / BEACH HOUSE | 21,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | TAILGATES & TANLINES / LUKE BRYAN | 823,000 | 7 | FOR EMMA FOREVER AGO / BON IVER | 19,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | TUSKEGEE / LIONEL RICHIE | 819,000 | 8 | BOYS & GIRLS / ALABAMA SHAKES | 17,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY / ROD STEWART | 797,000 | 9 | 21 / ADELE | 16,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | NIGHT TRAIN / JASON ALDEAN | 696,000 | 10 | BON IVER / BON IVER | 15,000 | |||||||||
| 2012 Top Ten Selling Internet Albums | 2012 Top Ten Selling Seasonal Albums | |||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Units Sold | Title/Artist | Units Sold | |||||||||||
| 1 | 21 / ADELE | 237,000 | 1 | MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY / ROD STEWART | 858,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | MDNA / MADONNA | 210,000 | 2 | CHRISTMAS / MICHAEL BUBLE | 622,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | RED / TAYLOR SWIFT | 161,000 | 3 | ON THIS WINTER'S NIGHT / LADY ANTEBELLUM | 439,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | BABEL / MUMFORD & SONS | 123,000 | 4 | CHEERS, IT'S CHRISTMAS / BLAKE SHELTON | 428,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | AMERICANA / NEIL YOUNG & CRAZY HORSE | 95,000 | 5 | CHRISTMAS WITH SCOTTY / SCOTTY MCCREERY | 348,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | TAKE ME HOME / ONE DIRECTION | 90,000 | 6 | DREAMS OF FIREFLIES / TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA | 217,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | CELEBRATION DAY / LED ZEPPELIN | 89,000 | 7 | CEELO'S MAGIC MOMENT / CEE LO GREEN | 181,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | TUSKEGEE / LIONEL RICHIE | 73,000 | 8 | UNDER THE MISTLETOE / JUSTIN BIEBER | 173,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | GREATEST HITS / WHITNEY HOUSTON | 69,000 | 9 | NOEL / JOSH GROBAN | 142,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | WRECKING BALL / BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN | 69,000 | 10 | MY CHRISTMAS / ANDREA BOCELLI | 123,000 | |||||||||
| 2012 Top Ten Selling Albums | 2012 Top Ten Selling Songs | |||||||||||||
| in the Holiday Season | in the Holiday Season | |||||||||||||
| (11/5/2012–12/30/2012) | (11/5/2012–12/30/2012) | |||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Units Sold | Title/Artist | Units Sold | |||||||||||
| 1 | RED / TAYLOR SWIFT | 1,554,000 | 1 | ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS… / BRENDA LEE | 1,775,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | TAKE ME HOME / ONE DIRECTION | 1,340,000 | 2 | LOCKED OUT OF HEAVEN / BRUNO MARS | 1,732,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY / ROD STEWART | 769,000 | 3 | GANGNAM STYLE / PSY | 1,462,000 | |||||||||
| 4 |
CHRISTMAS / MICHAEL BUBLE |
598,000 | 4 | I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE. / TAYLOR SWIFT | 1,383,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | UNAPOLOGETIC / RIHANNA | 553,000 | 5 | DIAMONDS / RIHANNA | 1,382,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | WORLD FROM THE SIDE… / PHILLIP PHILLIPS | 533,000 | 6 | HO HEY / THE LUMINEERS | 1,191,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | NOW 44 / VARIOUS ARTISTS | 524,000 | 7 | DIE YOUNG / KE$HA | 1,125,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | UNORTHODOX JUKEBOX / BRUNO MARS | 480,000 | 8 | HOME / PHILLIP PHILLIPS | 1,039,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | NIGHT TRAIN / JASON ALDEAN | 428,000 | 9 | BEAUTY AND A BEAT / JUSTIN BIEBER | 987,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | BABEL / MUMFORD & SONS | 428,000 | 10 | ONE MORE NIGHT / MAROON 5 | 895,000 | |||||||||
|
BILLBOARD’S MOST PLAYED TITLES AND ARTISTS BASED ON NIELSEN BDS DATA (AIRPLAY IN THE 2012 CALENDAR YEAR) |
||||||||||||||
| 2012 Top Ten Most Played Songs | 2012 Top Ten Artist Airplay | |||||||||||||
| (USRD Format BDS Airplay Detections) | (USRD Format BDS Airplay Detections) | |||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Detections | Artist | Detections | |||||||||||
| 1 | SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO… / GOTYE FT. KIMBRA | 652,000 | 1 | KATY PERRY | 1,395,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | WE ARE YOUNG / FUN. FT. JANELLE MONAE | 527,000 | 2 | ADELE | 1,178,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | STRONGER / KELLY CLARKSON | 506,000 | 3 | KELLY CLARKSON | 1,064,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | PAYPHONE / MAROON 5 FT. WIZ KHALIFA | 480,000 | 4 | TAYLOR SWIFT | 1,022,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | SET FIRE TO THE RAIN / ADELE | 480,000 | 5 | RIHANNA | 912,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | GLAD YOU CAME / WANTED | 471,000 | 6 | P!NK | 888,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | CALL ME MAYBE / CARLY RAE JEPSEN | 459,000 | 7 | BRUNO MARS | 865,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | WE FOUND LOVE / RIHANNA FT. CALVIN HARRIS | 450,000 | 8 | FLO RIDA | 830,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | LIGHTS / ELLIE GOULDING | 449,000 | 9 | KENNY CHESNEY | 826,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | WIDE AWAKE / KATY PERRY | 399,000 | 10 | NICKI MINAJ | 741,000 | |||||||||
| 2012 Top Ten Streamed Audio Songs | 2012 Top Ten Streamed Music Videos | |||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Streams | Title/Artist | Streams | |||||||||||
| 1 | SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO… / GOTYE FT. KIMBRA | 45,062,000 | 1 | CALL ME MAYBE / CARLY RAE JEPSEN | 79,934,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | WE ARE YOUNG / FUN. FT. JANELLE MONAE | 43,502,000 | 2 | WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING… / TAYLOR SWIFT | 49,042,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | CALL ME MAYBE / CARLY RAE JEPSEN | 39,830,000 | 3 | MIRROR / LIL WAYNE FT. BRUNO MARS | 42,574,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | LIGHTS / ELLIE GOULDING | 34,938,000 | 4 | BEEZ IN THE TRAP / NICKI MINAJ FT. 2 CHAINZ | 35,508,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | SOME NIGHTS / FUN. | 30,666,000 | 5 | PAYPHONE / MAROON 5 FT. WIZ KHALIFA | 33,661,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | PAYPHONE / MAROON 5 FT. WIZ KHALIFA | 28,343,000 | 6 | AS LONG AS YOU… / JUSTIN BIEBER FT. BIG SEAN | 33,520,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | GLAD YOU CAME / WANTED | 27,982,000 | 7 | WIDE AWAKE / KATY PERRY | 32,387,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | WE FOUND LOVE / RIHANNA FT. CALVIN HARRIS | 27,556,000 | 8 | PARTY ROCK ANTHEM / LMFAO | 32,188,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | STARSHIPS / NICKI MINAJ | 25,463,000 | 9 | WANT U BACK / CHER LLOYD | 31,650,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | WILD ONES / FLO RIDA FT. SIA | 25,400,000 | 10 | DIAMONDS / RIHANNA | 31,036,000 | |||||||||
| 2012 Top Ten Streamed Songs | 2012 Top Ten Streamed Artists | |||||||||||||
| (Includes Audio and Video) | ||||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Streams | Artist | Streams | |||||||||||
| 1 | CALL ME MAYBE / CARLY RAE JEPSEN | 119,764,000 | 1 | TAYLOR SWIFT | 216,000,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | PAYPHONE / MAROON 5 FT. WIZ KHALIFA | 62,004,000 | 2 | NICKI MINAJ | 210,000,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING… / TAYLOR SWIFT | 61,098,000 | 3 | RIHANNA | 204,000,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | MIRROR / LIL WAYNE FT. BRUNO MARS | 53,536,000 | 4 | KATY PERRY | 177,000,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | AS LONG AS YOU… / JUSTIN BIEBER FT. BIG SEAN | 51,850,000 | 5 | EMINEM | 174,000,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | BOYFRIEND / JUSTIN BIEBER | 51,196,000 | 6 | ONE DIRECTION | 168,000,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | WIDE AWAKE / KATY PERRY | 49,773,000 | 7 | ADELE | 163,000,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | PARTY ROCK ANTHEM / LMFAO | 48,414,000 | 8 | BEYONCE | 141,000,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | LIGHTS / ELLIE GOULDING | 47,988,000 | 9 | CHRIS BROWN | 139,000,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | STARSHIPS / NICKI MINAJ | 47,187,000 | 10 | CARLY RAE JEPSEN | 135,000,000 | |||||||||
STREAMING MUSIC ACTIVITY IS AGGREGATED FROM A VARIETY OF NIELSEN STREAMING DATA SOURCES INCLUDING: AKOO, GUVERA, MEDIANET, RHAPSODY, RDIO, SLACKER, SPOTIFY, THUMBPLAY, VEVO, YAHOO!, AND OTHERS.
|
BILLBOARD’S TOP TITLES & ARTISTS OF THE NIELSEN SOUNDSCAN ERA (RELEASE-TO-DATE SALES SINCE 1993) |
||||||||||||||
| Top Ten Selling Artists | Top Ten Selling Albums | |||||||||||||
| Artist | Units Sold | Title/Artist | Units Sold | |||||||||||
| 1 | GARTH BROOKS | 68,617,000 | 1 | METALLICA / METALLICA | 15,845,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | BEATLES | 64,158,000 | 2 | COME ON OVER / SHANIA TWAIN | 15,524,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | MARIAH CAREY | 53,939,000 | 3 | JAGGED LITTLE PILL / ALANIS MORISSETTE | 14,806,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | METALLICA | 53,642,000 | 4 | MILLENNIUM / BACKSTREET BOYS | 12,209,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | CELINE DION | 51,759,000 | 5 | BEATLES 1 / BEATLES | 12,139,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | GEORGE STRAIT | 43,932,000 | 6 | SOUNDTRACK / BODYGUARD | 12,056,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | EMINEM | 41,950,000 | 7 | SUPERNATURAL / SANTANA | 11,732,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | TIM MCGRAW | 40,993,000 | 8 | HUMAN CLAY / CREED | 11,632,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | ALAN JACKSON | 39,630,000 | 9 | LEGEND / BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS | 11,220,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | PINK FLOYD | 37,969,000 | 10 | NO STRINGS ATTACHED / N SYNC | 11,137,000 | |||||||||
| Top Ten Selling Digital Songs | Top Ten Selling Digital Albums | |||||||||||||
| Title/Artist | Units Sold | Title/Artist | Units Sold | |||||||||||
| 1 | I GOTTA FEELING / BLACK EYED THE PEAS | 8,186,000 | 1 | 21 / ADELE | 2,841,000 | |||||||||
| 2 | ROLLING IN THE DEEP / ADELE | 7,640,000 | 2 | SIGH NO MORE / MUMFORD & SONS | 1,488,000 | |||||||||
| 3 | PARTY ROCK ANTHEM / LMFAO | 7,463,000 | 3 | RECOVERY / EMINEM | 1,199,000 | |||||||||
| 4 | SOMEBODY THAT I USED TO… / GOTYE FT. KIMBRA | 6,885,000 | 4 | FAME / LADY GAGA | 1,053,000 | |||||||||
| 5 | POKER FACE / LADY GAGA | 6,866,000 | 5 | BORN THIS WAY / LADY GAGA | 931,000 | |||||||||
| 6 | JUST DANCE / LADY GAGA FEAT. COLBY O'DONIS | 6,720,000 | 6 | MYLO XYLOTO / COLDPLAY | 892,000 | |||||||||
| 7 | LOW / FLO RIDA FEAT. T-PAIN | 6,565,000 | 7 | FEARLESS / TAYLOR SWIFT | 875,000 | |||||||||
| 8 | BOOM BOOM POW / BLACK EYED THE PEAS | 6,544,000 | 8 | VIVA LA VIDA / COLDPLAY | 871,000 | |||||||||
| 9 | CALL ME MAYBE / CARLY JEPSEN RAE | 6,474,000 | 9 | RED / TAYLOR SWIFT | 863,000 | |||||||||
| 10 | I'M YOURS / JASON MRAZ | 6,436,000 | 10 | SPEAK NOW / TAYLOR SWIFT | 795,000 | |||||||||
2012 YEAR-END HIGHLIGHTS
- Total music purchases (Physical Albums, Digital Albums and Digital Songs) are at an all-time high, surpassing 1.65 billion units this year, up 3.1% vs. last year.
- Overall Album sales (including Albums and Track Equivalent Album sales) were down 1.8% compared to 2011.
- Total Album sales were down 4.4% in 2012 with sales totaling 316.0 million units compared to 330.6 million in 2011.
- 10 Albums sold more than one million units in 2012.
-
The Country genre showed the greatest gains in 2012 with sales up 4.1%
compared to 2011. Rock, which continues to be the biggest genre, was
up 1.4% vs. 2011.
- Country also saw a 38% gain in digital album sales in 2012 vs. 2011, the largest increase of any genre in the digital album format.
-
For the fifth consecutive year, more vinyl albums were purchased than any
other year in the history of Nielsen SoundScan.
- In 2012, vinyl album sales reached 4.6 million in sales, breaking the previous record of 3.9 million LP album sales in 2011.
- 67% of all vinyl albums were purchased at an independent music store during 2012.
- Vinyl album sales in 2012 were up 19% compared to 2011 and accounted for 1.4% of all album sales and 2.3% of all physical album sales.
- For the second consecutive year, Columbia Records ends the year with the largest market share among all label groups with a 9.05% album label share.
DIGITAL HIGHLIGHTS
-
Digital music continues to grow, with total digital sales up 9.1% vs.
2011.
- Digital Albums reached an all-time high with 117.7 million units, up 14.1% vs. 2011.
- Digital Tracks also reached an all-time high with 1.34 billion units sold in 2012, up 5.1% vs. 2011.
- Digital share of the total business (album + TEA) was 55.9% in 2012.
- Digital album sales accounted for 37% of all album purchases in 2012 compared to 31% in 2011, 26% in 2010, 20% in 2009, 15% in 2008, 10% in 2007 and 5.5% in 2006.
-
While total digital album growth was 14% in 2012, there were a number
of digital album genres that experienced even higher digital growth.
- Country digital album sales up 38%
- Latin digital album sales up 22%
- Rock digital album sales up 18%
- For the last week of 2012 (week ending 12/30/2012), digital album sales set a new high with sales of 4.5 million, over one million units higher than the previous record week.
- While overall digital tracks sales were up 5%, several genres showed double-digit increases. Dance/Electronic tracks are up 36%; Country is up 13%; Rock is up 11% vs. the prior year.
- For the first time, a digital song had more than six million downloads in a calendar year and that feat was achieved by two songs this year: Gotye featuring Kimbra – “Somebody That I Used to Know” sold 6.8 million downloads and Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” sold 6.5 million. Another song just missed the six million mark, with Fun. featuring Janelle Monae’s “We Are Young” selling 5.9 million downloads.
- In 2012, 108 songs exceeded the one million sales mark.
- In 2012, 41 different digital songs had sales that exceeded two million (compared to 38 in 2011, 37 in 2010, 31 in 2009, 19 in 2008, nine in 2007).
BEST SELLER ALBUM HIGHLIGHTS
-
Adele’s 21 finishes the year as the
biggest selling album for the second consecutive year with just over
4.4 million sales. This is the first time ever that an album has been
the year’s best seller for two consecutive years. The album has now
eclipsed the 10 million unit mark in just under two years.
- 21 was also the best-selling digital album of the year, surpassing one million digital albums for the second consecutive year. No other album has sold more than one million digital albums in any year and now 21 has done it two years in a row.
-
Taylor Swift’s Red is the year’s second
best seller with over 3.1 million units sold in just 10 weeks (the
album was released on 10/22).
- Red had first-week sales of 1,208,000, the biggest weekly sales for an album since The Eminem Show sold 1,322,000 in its second week of release in 2002.
MOST PLAYED AND STREAMED HIGHLIGHTS
- For the second year, Katy Perry ends the year as the most played artist over the airways in 2012 with more than 1.4 million spins.
- Four out of the top 10 most played artists in 2012 had more than one million detections for the year.
- Taylor Swift claimed the top spot as the most streamed artist in 2012 with more than 216 million streams.
- Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe” was the most streamed song and music video in 2012 with 119.8 million streams in 2012.
STRATA HIGHLIGHTS
- For the first time in history, more albums were sold in Digital music stores than in any other strata. Mass Merchants had been the largest strata for the past five years.
- In 2012, 37% of all albums purchased were through a digital service like iTunes, Amazonmp3 or eMusic, an increase of 6 points from 2011.
- During 2012, 29% of all album purchases occurred at Mass Merchant outlets (Walmart, Target, etc.).
- Album sales at retail Chain stores accounted for 15% of all album sales in 2012, while 10% came from Internet/Mail Order and Venue sales and 7% occurred at Independent music stores.
ABOUT NIELSEN
Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.