On January 6th 2015, Nielsen released a year end report on the Music industry that reported that older, or catalog releases out sold new releases for the first time in the history of the recording industry. The surge was led by the resurgence of vinyl, which sold 12 million units in that format alone. Albums by Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Miles Davis rounded out the top 5 albums of 2015.
Overall, catalog albums, (those which have been released for 18 months or more), sold 122.8 million copies while current releases sold 118.5 million copies. Current releases still led digital or download sales, but by the slim margin of 52.5 million new releases to 50.9 for catalog. However, catalog music also dominated streaming, with catalog making up 70% while new releases made up 30% of that market.
Speculation as to why this has occurred varies. Some analysts believe that the reason may be that some of the more notable names in today's pop music, failed to release an album in 2015. Others think that what has happened could indicate that the music of today's new artists, is some how disposable and now worthy of purchase. Still, others think that the vast number of releases by new artists, coupled with the ability to listen to the music without buying, is responsible.
The truth, whatever the opinion, may well be a combination of all of the above.
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