Source: Nielsen [download page]
Notes: Overall album consumption – measured as all albums + track equivalent albums + streaming equivalent albums – grew by 15.2% last year to 549.4 million units, reports Nielsen in its annual Year End Music Report. Streaming maintained its rapid growth, with video on-demand streaming doubling and audio on-demand streaming not far behind, with 83% growth. Meanwhile, although physical sales continue to fall, sales of Vinyl LPs registered their 10th consecutive year of growth, with almost 12 million units sold (45% of which sold through independent stores.)
Separately, the report details the many records set by Adele’s “25” album, including:
- Shattering the first-week Nielsen SoundScan sales record with almost 3.8 million units in its first week (previous record was 2.4 million);
- Being the first to ever scan more than 1 million unit in multiple weeks (doing so in three successive weeks); and
- Setting a first-week record for digital album sales, with more than 1.6 million.
Among the other highlights from the report:
- “Uptown Funk” was the top digital song by year-to-date sales and the most played song on the radio;
- “Trap Queen” topped the list for on-demand streams (audio + video combined); and
- Pop Contemporary Hit Radio was the leading radio format among 18-34-year-olds, followed by Country.
Related: How Americans Spend on Music
