Albums Don't Sell Anymore, Unless They do

The 2014 sales figures are in and album sales have dropped another 11%. If you look at that figure you'd think that the album as a concept is done for, except that there are 3 examples that shows that the right album by the the right artist can still sell even in this Music 4.0 age of streaming. For instance:

1. Up until November there wasn't a single million selling album by an artist (the Frozen soundtrack aside) and none were even close. Taylor Swift then released her 1989 album and sold more than 3.6 million copies in less than 2 months. Sam Smith's In The Lonely Hour also edged above 1 million at the last minute.

2. Adele's 21, which was released in 2011, went on to sell more copies in 2014 than releases by Mariah Carrey, Sia, or Skrillex. The total sales now exceed 30 million units, which many said would never happen again.

3. The best selling compilation album of 2014 was one that was released 30 years ago! It was Bob Marley and The Wailer's Legend.

Also interesting was the fact that 41% of all albums were digital downloads last year, the same as 2013.

What this goes to show is that there are fans who will still buy music if it touches them in just the right way. Unfortunately, just as in the rest of music's history, no one can predict what they way is as it's a constantly moving target.

Top 10 Dead Earning Musicians

The legacy of many star musicians still continues to bring in the cash as seen by this top 10 dead earning musicians list, according to ConcertTour.org.

Once again, Michael Jackson tops the list, although one has to wonder how much money actually made it to his heirs since his earnings are still being used to pay off the massive debts he piled up during his lifetime.

Kurt Cobain's estate earned a surprising $50 million last year, while Elvis, John Lennon and Bob Marley continue to earn well and round out the top 5. Here's the top 10.

1. Michael Jackson - 160 million last year
2. Kurt Cobain - $50 million
3. Elvis - $42 million
4. John Lennon - $24 million
5. Bob Marley - $18 million
6. George Harrison - $7 million
7. Johnny Cash - $6 million
8. Richard Rodgers - $6 million
9. Ray Charles - $6 million
10. Jenni Rivera - $6 million

The above earnings show why it's so important to protect your legacy. It's a way to keep your family living well long after you're gone.

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The 6 Top Earning Dead Musicians For 2012

Forbes recently posted an article about the top 6 earning dead musicians that I found interesting in a number of ways, particularly who was on the list and who was not. Let's look at them:

1. Michael Jackson - $145 million. A full year after he died, Michael has sold more than 8 million albums in the US, more than twice what runner-up Taylor Swift has done. His 50% stake in the Sony/ATV publishing catalog will continue to throw off cash pretty much forever, and his Cirque Due Soleil show already grossed $160 million on only the first leg of its tour. This number won't go down much in the near future.

2. Elvis Presley - $55 million. Believe it or not, the King's revenues were flat this year, yet he still continues to be a goldmine in the afterlife.

3. Bob Marley - $17. In death he's bigger than in life, at least revenue-wise, having sold more than 75 million records since 1992 alone. Now that the reggae king has added an energy drink and lifestyle company to his brands portfolio, expect this revenue to climb in the future.

4.  John Lennon - $12 million. The Beatles have sold more that 62 million albums in the US alone since 1992, and the Love Cirque Du Soleil show continues to be a big hit.

5. Richard Rogers - $6 million. Rogers and Hammerstein vast catalog of show tunes continue to be standards, and their publishing throws off cash accordingly.

6. George Harrison - $5.5 million. As with Lennon, GH still gets a cut of The Beatle empire as well as publishing from perennial favorites "Here Comes The Sun" and "Something."

What's interesting is who didn't make the list. Whitney Houston never wrote her songs so there's no publishing income, plus she never made back her last $40 million label advance, so no income there. Jimi Hendrix, Les Paul and Tupac Shakur all pulled in a bit more than $3 million, which somehow seems low. That said, it just goes to show that some celebrities can truly live forever, at least financially.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

The Top 10 Facebook Artists

Now with Google+ introduced and, at least initially, a hot topic, Facebook seems to have more and more detractors. That said it's still a vital part of most artists online strategy. Here are the top 10 artists (those with the most pageviews) in the month of May, according to Visibli (which is really a cool site to check out to see how effectively you're connecting with your fans).

While Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga were no surprise at #1 and 2, I'm pretty shocked at Bob Marley coming in at #3.

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Help support this blog. Any purchases made through our Amazon links help support this website with no cost to you.

You should follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for daily discussion of music, recording, and production tips and tricks.