Ongoing History: What is “SoundScan,” anyway?
If you follow the business side of the music, you may have run across the term “SoundScan.” This is the system by which physical music sales (CDs, vinyl, cassettes, DVDs) are counted. Before
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Soundscan
The story of how SoundScan changed everything for popular music 30 years ago
SoundScan is the system by which the sales physical music formats are tracked. When it was implemented in 1991, it replaced an antiquated (and corrupt) system of tracking sales based on estimates. SoundScan
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You can now have a #1 CD without selling a SINGLE CD
Traditionalists will look at this as another weird week on the album charts, but it’s more likely the new normal. For the second week in a row, rapper A Boogie Wit a Hoodie
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What are the all-time best-selling albums in Canada? Let’s take a look.
Earlier this week, there was a story about how The Eagles Greatest Hits: 1971-1975 was once again certified as the best-selling album in the US. The Recording Industry Association of America did an
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Random music news for Tuesday, August 21, 2018
By the end of the year, inflation in Venezuela could hit 1,000,000%. No, that’s not a typo, either. In music news for August 18, 2018… Weekly Canadian music sales and streams vs. this
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Random music news for Tuesday, July 31, 2018
Last day of July already and the back-to-school ads are in full effect. Fantastic. Here’s music news for July 31, 2018. Canadian music sales and streams vs. this time last year: Total albums,
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CD sales continue to tank this summer
It’s fascinating to watch how quickly sales of physical music are cratering in the age of streaming. Looking at the American SoundScan charts from last week, Drake’s Scorpion is again at #1, selling
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Last week was an all-time low for physical musical sales in the US and Canada. The CD is definitely dying out. Take a look at these shocking numbers.
If you had any lingering doubts about the battle between CDs and streaming, this should sort things out. Almost no one bought CDs (or any new physical music) in America last week. If
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Random music news for Tuesday, April 3, 2018
[NOTE: I’m on vacation this week, so there will probably be fewer postings than usual. – AC] Eight years ago today, Apple released the first iPads. Zooming up today, here’s what we have
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For the first time in FOREVER, the majority of the top 10 albums on SoundScan are from rock artists
Okay, so bragging rights for physical album sales aren’t what they used to be, but I couldn’t help notice that the majority of the top ten best-selling CDs/vinyl from last week’s American SoundScan
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The Ongoing History of New Music, Episode 810: The 90s, Part 1: The Foundational Changes That Made Everything Possible
Writing history takes a very long time. Sure, you could write everything down as it happens, but that’s only really like writing a diary. You only have a record of events, which is
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