The 100 Best Selling Albums of All Time (Updated for 2018)

What are the best-selling albums of all time?  According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975  is now the top-selling album in history, with 38 million copies sold in the US alone.  He…

Drake’s ‘Scorpion’ Is the Lowest-Selling No. 1 Album In 27 Years

Album sales in the United States have been tanking for more than a decade.  But streaming could be putting the final nails in this coffin. Drake’s Scorpion set streaming records that will be hard to beat.  But this week, there’s a strange r…

Streaming Music Is Finally Beating CD Sales in Germany — But Overall Revenues are Down

For the first time in the history of the German recording industry, online streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music have surpassed compact discs in terms of revenue. According to a statement published by the German Music Industry Association …

Vinyl Sales Have Grown 66.6% In Canada This Year Alone — Among Other Huge Gains

When it comes to the music consumption habits of Canada, some interesting trends have emerged during the first half of 2018. In particular, vinyl records enjoyed a surge of 66.6 percent, according to Nielsen’s mid-year report.  In 2017, there wer…

Music Downloads Tank 27.4% as Format Nears Extinction

Song downloads tanked nearly 30% during the first half of this year, according to US-based stats from Nielsen.  So how long does this format last? Hey, the woolly mammoth also had a good run.  But despite a decade of relatively strong sales, the paid d…

Apple Music Will Have 3 Million More U.S. Subscribers Than Spotify by Christmas, Executives Say

Apple Music is now in the passing lane on Spotify, with a wider lead in U.S. subscribers expected by the end of the year. Last week, sources to Digital Music News reported that Apple Music had surpassed Spotify in US-based paying subscribers.  That was…

Vinyl Records Are Still Enjoying Double-Digit Growth — Up 19.2% In 2018

Vinyl records aren’t so vintage anymore. In fact, figures from Nielsen Music indicate that sales of LPs are up 19.2% this year.  According to first-half, US-based stats shared with Digital Music News this morning, sales of LP albums landed at 7.6…

Drake Officially Breaks the One Week Billion-Stream Barrier

Few people are surprised that Scorpion, the fifth album from rapper Drake, has done well.  But how many industry insiders expected Scorpion to break the one-week billion-stream barrier? Looks like Scorpion has the biggest sting of any modern release. T…

Hip-Hop + R&B Accounts for One-Third of All Music Streaming In 2018

Rap, hip-hop, and R&B account for more than one-third of all music streaming this year, according to Nielsen Music.  But rock n’ roll isn’t nearly as dead as you think. If you’re wondering why Spotify so quickly retired its &#8216…

Apple Music Just Surpassed Spotify’s U.S. Subscriber Count

Apple Music has now surpassed Spotify’s US-based subscriber tally — and plans to widen the lead by Christmas. Apple Music has more US-based, paying subscribers in the United States than Spotify, according to confidential details shared with Digit…