Data analyzed by Nielsen SoundScan indicates that online music sales of singles outpaced traditional CD singles almost 2-to-1 since June. 7.7 million singles have been sold since Nielsen started tracking online music sales in June, while just about 4 million were sold in CD format. While it is clear that such data indicates a strong debut for online sales, industry executives are cautious in their overall assessment. The use of CD singles has declined greatly in recent years, as consumers have hitherto grown cold to them. One must also consider the boost given online music sales by the lunch of so many services-the newbie "golly gee, this is cool" factor certainly contributed to the strong showing seen so far.



There's another issue that's not being talked about, however, and that's the potential threat now faced by the album per se. If consumers found CD singles unsavory, it was because CD singles were outrageously priced. Picking up that catchy tune on the radio could cost you $7, a price point that led many consumers to either sidestep any purchase at all, or aim for the album. The online music sales model complicates matters because now, ostensibly, all songs are priced the same, and are available in any combination. The hegemony of the album is, dare I say it, practically dead in the online model. The 7.7 million "singles" sold over the last few months aren't all just Billboard top hits, they're also full of CCR songs, Beatles favs, Random Johnny Cash songs and the like. Armed with $10, you can now buy $10 worth of music in a way that simply was not possible a year ago. In this way, singles sales will likely be the strongest sales seen in the online world. The report correlates the wide content distribution of singles sales by noting that despite the near 2-to1 sales ratio, the top-selling CD single still outsold the top selling online music single. (Ars Technica)

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