Charts: New music is toppled by nuns
mainThe latest Nielsen Soundscan figures on US music sales show that Hilary Hahn’s dominance with 27 new commissions was shortlived. She has been displaced by another Decca disc of singing nuns. Don’t they all sound alike?
Sales, overall, are worryingly low in Thanksgiving week, with the top three classics selling barely 500 copies each.
As a long time collector and follower of recorded music I often wonder how many CDs of new releases are actually sold. Looking at the offerings of the recording company adverts in the music press I cannot understand how these companies make money. When a CD from a popular artist such as Hahn sells 500 units, you wonder what the latest from lesser performers sell.
Does the 500 include iTunes sales?
I went to Barnes and Noble’s here in Huntington Beach to buy the new Hahn CD. They told me they had ordered one copy, and they would call me when it came in.
The big classical seller, and they had ordered one copy?