Bruce Springsteen's "Working on a Dream" sold 224,000 copies in the week ended Sunday, hitting the mark that was widely expected among industry observers.
Of his three albums with the E Street Band this decade, it posted the lowest opening week. "Magic" sold 335,000 copies in its opening stanza 15 months ago and "The Rising" sent off 525,000 in August 2002.  
Sales period ended prior to his performance at halftime of the Super Bowl, which should keep his tally high next week. 
"Working on a Dream" is the third album in which Springsteen has kicked promotional efforts into high gear, agreeing to print and TV interviews. In addition, iTunes offered a free download of the title track a month before the release of the album and Amazon streamed the video of the new album's "Life Itself." Springsteen also appeared at the We Are One concert in Washington, D.C., just days before the album's release.
It was a novel move with "The Rising" to have Springsteen and the E Street Band reconnect with audiences by increasing his promotional appearances that now appears to be a necessary ingredient for any veteran star hoping to have a commercial impact. 
The rest of top 10 fell between 55,000 sold by Taylor Swift's "Fearless" at No. 2 and Britney Spears' "Circus" moving 28,000. Two albums debuted in the top 10: the "2009 Grammy Nominees" various artists disc from Rhino sold 33,000 to open at No. 6 and Franz Ferdinand's "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" (Domino) sold 31,000 (No. 9). 

While we wait for Bruce Springsteen to remind the world that albums can still sell a quarter million copies in a week, Taylor Swift's-mania  gets interrupted by a news flash: Indie rock artists can sell albums and crawl into the top 100. Take a look: 

Andrew Bird's "Noble Beast" (Fat Possum) sold 26,000 copies to debut at No. 12, according to Nielsen Soundscan data. It is the eighth album from Bird, a violinist and singer, and his first to chart below No. 76.

Animal Collective's "Merriweather Post Pavilion" (Domino), the sixth album from the New York-based collective, sold 25,000 to come in at No. 13. None of the band's albums have placed higher than No. 72, which "Strawberry Jam" hit in 2007.
An EP from Bon Iver, the performance name of Justin Verdon whose "For Emma, Forever Ago" was in countless year-end top 10 lists, sold 23,000 copies. Antony and the Johnsons' "Crying Light" sold 8,000 to open at No. 65; A.C. Newman's "Get Guilty" (Matador), the first solo album in five years from the leader of the New Pornographers, sold 5,000 to come in at No. 99.
Also, Fiction Family, featuring Sean Watkins, formerly of Nickel Creek, and Jon Foreman of Switchfoot, sold 7,000 copies of their self-titled ATO debut to start at No. 71.  

Another act that has gained considerable steam from 2008 overviews is the Fleet Foxes' self-titled album on Sub Pop. Last week it sold 14,000 copies and moved up 10 slots to No. 46. A month ago, during the holiday shopping season, the album was at No. 181 on sales of 5,000. It has now sold 211,000 copies.

Meanwhile, early Valentine's Day shoppers scooped up 29,000 copies of Columbia's Mariah Carey "Ballads" to slide in at No. 10 and 17,000 copies of the Frank Sinatra "Seduction" collection from Warner Music (No. 23). 

Limiting recordings to a single retailer, seen as the panacea for slumping sales when the Eagles swooped in 15 months ago, continues to experience a crash on Nielsen SoundScan's top 200. Here's a look at the week's sales of albums available at only one outlet. (* denotes a debut week).

39. AC/DC "Black Ice" (Wal-mart) 11,200
51. Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy" (Best Buy) 9,300
74. Christina Aguilera "Keeps Gettin' Better" (Target) 6,500
86. Bruce Springsteen "Greatest Hits" (Wal-Mart) 5,700*
94. My Morning Jacket "Live From Las Vegas" (iTunes) 5,300*
121. Various artists "This is Us" (Starbucks) 3,800*
133. Eagles "Long Road Out of Eden" (Wal-mart) 3,500
137. Various artists "Jazz Signatures Vol.2" (Starbucks) 3,400*

A sign of the further weakening of the recorded music business arrived in the tallies registered by current releases between Nos. 51 and 200: No title sold more than 10,000 copies and the bottom of the chart now extends to albums selling as few as 2,400 copies.
Granted, the second week of January is one of the year's slowest weeks, but it is a shining example of how far the business has fallen in just a few years, mainly due to albums not having much of a shelf life.
In just three years, the number of albums selling more than 10,000 copies has been cut in half. And the number of units being sold by the albums between Nos. 51 and 200 has seen a similar dip.
In 2006, the bottom 150 went from 20,000 units sold down to 5,800. On that chart, though, 110 albums sold more than 10,000 copies and the album at No. 111, Pitbull’s “Money Is More Than a Major Issue,” missed the cut by just 23 sales. Nearly identical numbers were posted in 2005: 113 discs topped 10,000 sold; Nos. 51-200 ranged from 20,000 down to 5,000.
Five years ago, Nos. 51 through 200 saw sales of 21,000 down to 5,800 with 126 albums selling more than 10,000.
The Long Tail theory  contends that culture and economy have shifted away from a small number of “hits” and toward a huge number of niches. The problem now is one of scale as those niches continue to dwindle.
About the only place where the long tail holds true is at the top of the catalog chart where Abba’s “Gold” sold 10,000 copies last week and Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “Legend” moved 7,000.
The last time the second week of January had an album reach six figures was 2003 when Norah Jones’ “Come Away With Me” sold 108,000 copies. That disc was on the rise, though, as it its cume at the time was 2.9 million; it sold another 5 million copies by year’s end. For the record, that year’s 51-200 rolled from 18,500 to 5,000, with the 10,000 barrier set at No. 104.
A year ago, in the week ended Jan. 13, the 51-200 range went from the 12,000 sold by “Jordin Sparks” to 3,000 moved by Killswitch Engage’s “As Daylight Dies.” The 10,000 mark was crossed at No. 65, where Buckcherry’s “15” registered sales of 9,900. A year earlier, the 51-200 range was 14,600 to 3,700, the 10,000 sold barrier sitting at No. 77, at which Mos Def’s “Tru3 Magic” sold 9,900.

The final sales week leading up to Christmas and Hanukkah was an overall disaster for the music industry as sales were off by 33% from 2007. It allowed, seemingly, albums featured prominetly in year-end "best-of" lists to find place sin the top 200.
Jamey Johnson's "That Lonesome Song," which the New York Times critics heavily praised sold 24,000 (No. 71); the Amazon-crowned Kings of Leon's "Only the Night" moved 22,000 (No. 75); and the album nearly every poll has high on the list, Fleet Foxes' self-titled release, sold 14,000 (No. 118).
Among the others: MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular" did 11,000 (No. 145); TV on the Radio's "Dear Science" tuned in 9,000 (No. 175); Bob Dylan's "Tell Tale Signs" wandered off with 9,000 bootheels (No. 177); Vampire Weekend flew off with 8,000 (No. 180); Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago" creaked out 7,000 (No. 196); and Lucinda Williams' "Little Honey" flowed with 7,000 (No. 198).

The 1 billion sold mark has been crossed in the digital music arena.
Nielsen Soundscan reported that 1 billion digital tracks have been sold this year and it is believed the year will close at 1.04 billion, a 28% jump from 2007's sales of 844 million.
Of the year's total, 17% of the sales are of top 200 title. Soundscan started tracking digital sales in the middle of 2003.
The year's biggest seller is Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love," which has moved 3.3 million copies to date.

How far did last week's mighty fall on the album sales chart?
Last week's No. 1, Kanye West's "808s & Heartbreak," sold 142,000 copies and dropped to No. 4, a 69% dip, according to Nielsen Soundscan data. Ludacris’ “Theater of the Mind” and the Killers’ “Day and Age” experienced 69% sales dips as well as both dropped 10 slots. Ludacris sold 65,000 copies (No. 15); the Killers did 61,000 (No. 16).
Guns N’ Roses’ “Chinese Democracy” took the biggest pounding, selling 57,000 copies — a 78% drop — and slid 15 slots to No. 18.
Taylor Swift, who co-hosted the Grammy concert on CBS, saw her "Fearless" hold onto No. 2 despite a sales slide of 74,000 units to 193,000 sold in the week.
Besides Andre Bocelli’s “Incanto” (35,000 sold, No. 33), Christmas records were the only albums in the top 50 to experience sales bumps.
"Elvis Presley Christmas Duets" was up 15,0000 units to 57,000 (No. 17); Harry Connick Jr.'s "What a Night!" was up 12,000 to 48,000 (No. 20); and Yo-Yo Ma's "Songs of Joy & Peace" rose 4,000 to 38,000 (No. 29). Leading holiday sellers remain Faith Hill's "Joy to the World" (No. 13 with a cume of 269,000) and Enya's "And Winter Came” (No. 14, 308,000 sold to date). Holiday albums by Amy Grant, Julianne Hough, Mannheim Steamroller, Kristin Chenoweth, Celtic Woman, Aretha Franklin and Mary Chapin Carpenter rose more than 20 slots last week.

Potentially interesting facts and theories from Thanksgiving week sales.


The American Music Awards, which has had its TV airdate moved around considerably over the last 10 years, may have had its greatest effect ever in boosting album sales. The artists booked on the AMAs are there to pitch product - in the cases of Kanye West, Taylor Swift and Beyonce it was brand new music - and nearly every performer has an album that is still receiving promotion at retail and online.
Taylor Swift's "Fearless" was up 50,000 units to 267,000 (No. 2); Pink's "Funhouse" was up 20,000 to 61,000 (No. 20); Miley Cyrus' "Breakout" was up 18,000 to 46,000 (No. 23); and the Jonas Brothers' "A Little Bit Longer" up 16,000 to 43,000 (No. 24).
Coldplay also had a new EP coming out to help, but "Viva La Vida" more than doubled its sales from the week previous and rose 29 slots (43,000; No. 25). Albums by Rihanna and Ne-Yo also enjoyed sales spikes.

TV's impact on album sales is stronger than it has ever been. Tonight's televised Grammy nominations concert should yield spikes for John Mayer, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Foo Fighters, B.B. King and Taylor Swift. Christina Aguilera will perform, too. But unlike the others, her new release, a hits package, is available only at Target stores, leaving the average iTunes junkie with only one option - buy the new single for 99 cents rather than acquiring the CD.

Hype, "exclusive" sales tactics and a bounty of prominently displayed reviews cannot hide the fact that Axl Rose has worn out his welcome. By Guns N' Roses standards, selling 261,000 copies of "Chinese Democracy" makes it a a first-week flop. Somewhere along the way, Rose forgot that GNR was a band and that people responded to them as a unit. Now, without the great mysterious record to hang over GNR fans, is it possible Rose will just fade away?

100K club (aka, albums selling more than 100,000 copies during Thanksgiving week): 10 in 2008; 5 in 2007; 19 in 2006; 16 in 2005.

Christmas Cheer: Faith Hill's "Joy to the World" sold 73,000 (No. 17) to get its cume to 206,000, while Enya's "Winter Came" frosted 66,000 (No. 18), bringing its total to 242,000. The others in the top 50, with chart position and cume in parentheses): "Elvis Presley Christmas Duets" (No. 28, 113,000); Tony Bennett's "Swinging Christmas" (No. 31, 78,000); Harry Connick Jr.'s "What a Night!" (No. 33, 83,000); Yo-Yo Ma's "Songs of Joy & Peace" (No. 36, 136,000); "Now That's What I Call Christmas" (No. 40, 83,000). There are 17 Christmas albums between Nos. 51 and 200.

Debuts in the lower portions of the chart:
67. Paul McCartney (the Fireman) "Electric Arguments" 17,000
96. Scott Weiland "Happy in Galoshes" 11,000
105. Tom Jones "24 Hours" 9,000
174. Rivers Cuomo "Alone 2" 6,000

With "Greatest Songs of the Eighties" in stores, Barry Manilow has only one more album before Clive has to conceive a new formula for the crooner. Maybe he could cover Rod Stewart's covers.

Apple's iTunes has released its top 10 sales lists for 2008 for singles and albums, and it does not quite correlate with the year's sales tallies from Nielsen SoundScan.
Coldplay looks like the digital leader of the year, with the top-selling album and the No. 2 single. The year's biggest selling album, Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III," comes in fourth and its top single, "Lollipop," is No. 6.
The only other artists who appears on both lists is Sara Bareilles. If one conclusion can be drawn it's that the modern album purchaser goes to iTunes immediately after watching a DVD or film loaded with music -- three soundtracks made the top 10 and all three were in theaters last year. The singles market is no different than it was in the early '70s: Driven by pop and R&B with a hint of rock.   

ITUNES BEST-SELLING ALBUMS OF 2008

1. Coldplay, "Viva la Vida"
2. Jack Johnson, "Sleep Through the Static"
3. Various Artists, "Juno (Music from the Motion Picture)"
4. Lil Wayne, "Tha Carter III"
5. Sara Bareilles, "Little Voice"
6. Various Artists, "Once (Music from the Motion Picture)"
7. Jason Mraz, "We Sing.  We Dance.  We Steal Things."
8. OneRepublic, "Dreaming Out Loud"
9. Various Artists, "Across the Universe (Music from the Motion Picture)"
10.  Leona Lewis, "Spirit"

ITUNES BEST-SELLING SONGS OF 2008

1. "Bleeding Love," Leona Lewis
2. "Viva la Vida," Coldplay
3. "Low (feat. T-Pain)," Flo Rida
4. "I Kissed a Girl," Katy Perry
5. "Disturbia," Rihanna
6.  "Lollipop," Lil Wayne & Static Major
7. "No Air," Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown
8. "Pocketful of Sunshine," Natasha Bedingfield
9. "Love Song," Sara Bareilles
10. "Don't Stop the Music," Rihanna

Not that anyone needs to be told that the recorded music business mightily struggling but this past week's sales report was about as dire a week as we have seen in years.
Eleven new albums — most of them by established artists — debuted in the top 20, but sales were so paltry the week was off by 25% from the same period last year. Four albums even sold more than 100,000 copies.
It appears a piece of conventional wisdom has been thrown out the window. In the days of actual record stores, whenever a product led a sales charge - AC/DC's "Black Ice" for example - sales of other releases would pick up. Now that the AC/DC disc is available in only one outlet and said outlet, Wal-Mart, is reducing shelf space for CDs, titles are not being piggybacked on the item that got the customer into the store.
What's really crazy about this week;s chart is how far behind current records are performing in their first weeks when compared with the acts' last albums.
John Legend's third album, "Evolver" (Columbia), sold 133,000 to open at No. 4, delivering only 58% of the first week sales posted in October 2006 by “Once Again.” The No. 5 album, Toby Keith's "That Don't Make Me a Bad Guy" (Show Dog Nashville), sold 91,000, a distant cry from the 204,000 that his “Big Dog Daddy” did 16 months ago.
Rascal Flatts' "Greatest Hits, Vol. 1" (Lyric Street) was a slot lower on sales of 89,000. Album includes three new Christmas tracks in addition to 13 of their hits but demand is nowhere near the 547,000 units sold by the trio’s “Still Feels Good” in September 2007.
Another hits package, Celine Dion's two-CD set "My Love: Essential Collection" (Columbia), moved 57,000 to chime in at No. 8. Nine years ago, her hits package “All the Way: A Decade of Song” sold ,more than 300,000 copies in its debut week.
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals' "Cardinology" (Lost Highway) did better than most, selling 40,000 and opening at No. 11. Adams’ 2007 release, "Easy Tiger," sold 61,000 and debuted at No. 7.
The Cure's "4:13 Dream" (Suretone/Geffen) sent off 24,000 to start at No. 16;in June 2004, “The Cure” sold 91,000.
Bloc Party's "Intimacy" (Atlantic) was released digitally in August and physically on Oct. 28 It sold with 24,000 (No. 18). That’s half the first-week sales of their release last year "A Weekend in the City."
Among those that did OK: Pink's "Funhouse" (LaFace) which sold 180,000 and registered a personal chart position record. Tally exceeded by 54,000 the debut of her April 2006 release “I’m Not Dead.”
Snow Patrol's "A Hundred Million Suns" (Fiction/Geffen) sold 48,000 to pop in at No. 9, making it the band's first trip into the top 10. More than half of the album’s sales were digital, buoyed by Amazon selling the music for less than $4.
And even with a full week of kids going to see "High School Musical 3" in theaters sales slipped 45%, selling 162,000.
One slot higher, with the same tally, was the first album from Lady GaGa, "The Fame" ( Streamline/Interscope). Michael W. Smith's live album "A New Hallelujah" (Reunion) debuts at secured 23,000 sales (No. 19).
Other debuts included Kottonmouth Kings’ “Green Album” (Suburban Noize) selling 13,000 (No. 42); Queen & Paul Rodgers moving 12,000 (No. 47); and Cradle of Filth’s “Godspeed on the Devil’s Thunder” (Roadrunner) rocked 11,000 (No. 48).

Three Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members have albums in the top 10: Bob Dylan, Metallica and James Taylor. Two of the albums are worth owning.
It doesn't end there. Another 15 artists who issued their first recordings more than 25 years are also in this week's Nielsen SoundScan report, some of which proves repackaged catalog might never die.
For the week ended Sunday:
Chart Position/Artist & Album/Sales

2. Metallica "Death Magnetic" 66,000
8. Bob Dylan "Tell Tale Signs" 50,000
10.James Taylor "Covers" 44,000
32. Pretenders "Break Up the Concrete" 16,000
61. Journey "Revelation" 8,000
68. Jackson Browne "Time the Conqueror" 8,000
70. Tina Turner "Tina!" 7,000
74. George Strait "Troubadour" 7,000
93. The Clash "Live at Shea Stadium" 6,000
110. Frank Sinatra "Nothing But the Best" 5,000
125. Led Zeppelin "Mothership" 5,000
127. Robert Plant/Allison Krauss "Raising Sand" 4,500
137. Natalie Cole "Still Unforgettable" 4,300
140. David Gilmour "Live in Gdansk" 4,200
153. Madonna "Hard Candy" 3,800
161. The Eagles "Long Road Out of Eden" 3,600
198. Bette Midler "Jackpot" 3,000

On the week that first singer from the most recent edition of "American Idol" charted, we take a gander at how singers known primarily from television shows fared this week. Horse trader Kristy Lee Cook either borrowed a thoroughbred or was given enough of an advance to buy a new one for the photos on her debut, which placed eighth among all TV-driven artists or second if you dismiss Disney creations. Chart positions are where they finished on the Nielsen SoundScan top 200.   

Pos/Artist/Title/Week's sales

11 Jonas Brothers "Little Bit Longer" 41,000
18 Jessica Simpson "Do You Know" 25,000
20 Miley Cyrus "Breakout" 22,000
28 "Camp Rock" Soundtrack 16,000
42 Jonas Brothers s/t 11,000
45 Carrie Underwood "Carnival Ride" 11,000
46 Cheetah Girls: One World soundtrack 10,000
49 Kristy Lee Cook "Why Wait" 10,000
52 Daughtry s/t 9,000
61 Celtic Thunder "Act Two" 8,000
71 Jordin Sparks s/t 7,000
150 Celtic Thunder "Celtic Thunder: The Show" 4,000
183 Wayne Brady "Long Time Coming" 3,000

Each week that Wal-Mart gets touted as a crucial component in album's sales effort, it's usually alongside a discount price. Eagles new album - two CDs for $11.88. Journey's album of two CDs and a DVD: $11. 88. Packaging of Tim McGraw's two hits compilations: $11.88.
Yet when it comes to albums they are not selling as exclusives, Wal-Mart seems to be violating its own bargain-basement principles: They might the most expensive e-tailer out there, pricing CDs $2 to $4 higher than other online outlets.
I stumbled on this while researching Solange's "Sol-Angel & the Hadley Street Dreams," which Amazon had on sale for $6.99 and iTunes was offering for $7.99. Wal-Mart has the album listed for $9.82.
Wal-Mart often plays a role in determining which album hits No. 1 but this week it was not offering the Game's "LAX" and it was selling Slipknot's "All Hope is Gone" for almost four bucks more than iTunes and Amazon, which had it for $9.99. Wal-Mart is selling the CD for $13.88.
of the 11 albums that debuted this week in the top 50, Wal-Mart was selling only one disc for a price lower than iTunes or Amazon, the Lost Trailers' "Holla Back," and at $9.72, that was a mere 18 cents cheaper than iTunes.B.B. Kings "One Kind Favor" has the biggest span: $9.99 at Amazon, $11.99 at iTunes and $13.88 at Wal-Mart. 
Click on the various sites offerings in their "sales" areas and Wal-Mart's nine hot new releases are mostly selling for between $12 and $15 with Miley Cyrus' "breakout" listed as the only one under $11.88.
iTunes is has Young Jeezy's "The Recession" at the top of its hot list selling for $9.99. Amazon appears to be going gangbusters with pre-release sales of Metallica's "Death Magnetic" at $8.99. It will be released Sept. 12.
The one disc being promoted across all three sites is Chris Tomlin's new album, which Amazon has at the lowest prices, $9.99.
As for the existing hits, it does not improve. Test case: "Mamma Mia!" soundtrack is $12.88 at Wal-Mart, nearly $3 more than Amazon and iTunes. Meanwhile, all three have the latest from the Jonas Brothers and Miley Cyrus at just under 10 bucks.
      

Who's No. 1?
The official top 200 album sales chart that Nielsen Soundscan issues to record companies lists the Game's "LAX" as the week's top seller, having sold 238,285 copies. That's 13 more than the No. 2 album, Slipknot's "All Hope Is Gone."
But Billboard, on its website, has flipped the two albums, reporting that Slipknot's "All Hope Is Gone" has sold 239,516 and the Game's disc moved 238,382.
At first, it appears Billboard was perhaps counting the albums sold prior to the official release date of Aug. 26, and while that would indeed place Slipknot ahead of the Game, neither the math nor the ethics seem correct. Sales are for the week and in these two album's cases, the sales period give the gold to the Game, silver to Slipknot.
Nielsen Soundscan data reports  that the Game album sold 772 copies prior to the release date and Slipknot moved 941. That would take their tallies to
239,213 for Slipknot and 239,057 for The Game. Somehow, Billboard has come up with an additional undocumented sales of 303 for Slipknot and 325 for the Game. 

An occasional look at who debuted out of the top 50 or: After all that ink and blog entries, Black Kids are being outsold by 126 other acts.

54. U2 "Live From Paris" 10,000 sold
66. Counting Crows "Live From SoHo" 9,000
68. Buddy Guy "Skin Deep" 9,000
82. Avett Brothers "Second Gleam" 8,000
83. Pepper "Pink Crustaceans" 7,000
86. Dr. Dog "Fate" 7,000
123. Classic Crime "Silver Cord" 6,000
127. Black Kids "Partie Traumatic" 5,500
131. Hell Rell "Black Mask Black Gloves" 5,000
153. CSNY "Deja Vu Live"4,000
189. CSS "Donkey" 3,000

Album sales are down 11% from the midpoint of 2007, while digital sales continue to grow at a steady pace.
Physical and digital album sales reached 204.6 million units in the 26 sales weeks between Dec. 31 and June 29, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
CD sales have been a prime culprit in the sales dip as they are off more than 16% from 2007 levels, which were significantly down from the year prior. Sales of CDs have been hit hard by the closure of music stores such as Virgin and the reduction of shelf space at big box stores such as Best Buy and Target.
Digital sales, however, continue to grow dramatically. Digital album sales are up 34% to 31.6 million units which represents 15.5% of all album sales.
Digital tracks spiked 30% as 524.7 million have been sold to date, a 125.4 million unit increase from 2007.
As much as there is a slump in album sales, last year took an even bigger pounding in the first half. The January-July total in 2007 was 229.8 million units, a significant slump from the fairly comparable first half numbers of 2006 (298.7 million) and 2005 (298.4 million).
The four majors are all within a percentage point of their first-half marketshare in 2007. Universal Music Group leads at 31.2% followed by Sony BMG at 25%, Warner Music Group at 20.9% and EMI at 9.1%. Indies account for 13.9% of the marketplace.
The top three albums released this year all happen to be distributed by Universal: Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III," which has sold 1.5 million copies; Jack Johnson's "Sleep Through The Static” (1.2 million); and Mariah Carey's "E=MC2" (1.1 million).
Among the leaders for other labels are Leona Lewis’ “Spirit” (830,000) and Usher’s “Here I Stand” (806,000) at Sony BMG; the “Juno” soundtrack (828,000) at Warner Music:;  and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” (971,000) at EMI.
Lewis' "Bleeding Love" is the year’s biggest selling track to date, having been downloaded 2.6 million times.
And yes, sales of vinyl albums areup dramatically as well:  803,000 have been sold in 2008 compared with 454,000 in ’07.

Fresh off the delivery trucks and new in the digital pipeline, the Seattle quintet Fleet Foxes took a rare 9.0 rating from Pitchfork to the bank, selling a strong 8,000 copies of their self-titled album in the week that ended Sunday. Sub Pop is getting accustomed to landing its better bands into the top 100 as Fleet Foxes follow the commercial success of labelmates Flight of the Conchords, Band of Horses, Iron & Wine and the Shins.
Stephen M. Deusner writes in the review:
"Theirs is a studiously rural aesthetic, eschewing urban influences and using reverb like sepia-tone to suggest something much older and more rustic than it really is. The album opens with a short tune (titled "Red Squirrel" on early leaks but not listed on the CD) that could be a field recording sung by a small-town congregation 50 years ago." It got me to buy the album - and the EP.
Also selling 8,000 copies this week in their debuts were  Aimee Mann's "@%&!Smilers"; Radiohead's two-disc version of "Best Of"; and the "In the Heights" original Broadway cast album. 
The numbers on the top 50 are here.

Wal-Mart execs are busy whistling "Don't Stop Believin'" in Bentonville, Ark.
Journey's "Revelation," a two-CD/one DVD package, sold 104,000 copies in its debut week, according to the retailer. Album is likely to open at No. 5; the band has not had a top 10 hit since "Trial By Fire" opened at No. 3 in 1996.
"Revelation" is being sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club in North America, Walmart.com and Samsclub.com, and Journey’s official website, Journeymusic.com. "Revelation's" first week’s sales posted a 1,400% increase over the band’s 2005’s release "Generations."
First disc consists of 11 new songs, the second is filled with 11 re-recorded hits and the DVD is of a concert.

Time to take another look into the lower reaches of this week's Nielsen Soundscan top 200 and see how those albums with little airplay, yet substantial media exposure did in their debut week.

94. Dresden Dolls "No Virgina" 7,000
126. Scarlett Johansson "Anywhere I lay My Head" 5,000
140. Mates of State "Re-Arrange Us" 5,000
147. Ting Tings "We Started Nothing" 4,000
152. Cool Kids "The Bake Sale" 4,000
200. Islands "Arm's Way" 3,000

A look at one week sales of recent press darlings in the post-SXSW, post-spring break week of March 17-23.
List is organized by overall Nielsen Soundscan number, artist, title and units sold. * signifies first week sales.

18. Gnarls Barkley - Odd Couple (31,000)*
24. Amy Winehouse - Back to Black (26,000)
37. Erykah Badu - New Amerykah (19,000)
40. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend (18,000)
50. Robert Plant/Alison Krauss - Raising Sand (16,000)
61. Radiohead - In Rainbows (14,000)
81. She & Him - Vol. 1 (10,000)*
84. Eddie Vedder - Into the Wild (10,000)
96. Herbie Hancock - River: The Joni Letters (9,000)
123. k.d. lang - Watershed (7,000)
133. The Kills - Midnight Boom (6,000)*
158. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (5,000)
172. Kate Nash - Made of Bricks (5,000)
179. Matches - Band in Hope (5,000)*

After several seasons of bolstering album sales for 95% of the established artists who appear on "American Idol," the use of songs penned by John Lennon and Paul McCartney provided only a minimal boost in Beatles album sales.
Obviously there's a big difference between having an act perform and just having the contestants sing an act's tunes. But in this case, with the Beatles catalog still not available for download, there was no option to make an immediate purchase. Never mind that the interpretations were pretty bad, any time the Beatles are in the musical news, there are usually sales bumps. One would think, however, they would not be as slight as they were last week.
The two soundtrack packages for "Across the Universe," which, like "Idol," is interpretations of Beatles tunes, saw bumps of about 1,000 copies each. The deluxe edition was up to 18,000 sold; the regular edition hit 9,000, according to Nielsen Soundscan.
The 2007 release "Beatles Love," which was responsible for two Grammy wins last year, saw a 2,000 unit spike to 6,000 sold.
The best-selling Beatles album was the hits collection "1," which sold 9,000 copies, up from 5,000 two weeks ago. "Abbey Road," the penultimate Beatles release, was up 700 units to just over 3,000 sold. 

When is the second highest selling album of the week nowhere to be found in the top 200?
There used to be a number of reasons but now it's down to one: When the disc has been classified as a catalog release.
The 25th anniversary edition of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" (Epic/Legacy) sold 166,000 copies in its first week of release, which would make it the second biggest seller of the week that ended Sunday. Despite it containing a DVD and five newly reworked versions of the songs, it is considered a catalog release by Billboard, which categorizes sales data collected by Nielsen SoundScan.
In much of the rest of the world it has been categorized as a new release and debuted at No. 1 in France, No. 2 in Germany, Australia, Holland, Norway and Switzerland,  and No. 3 in the U.K. “Thriller,” which has sold 27 million copies, is No. 1 on Billboard’s catalog chart. Most catalog chart toppers sell between 15,000 and 20,000 copies per week.
Last year, Billboard eliminated its rule that barred from the top 200, releases available at a single retailer. That was in response to the Eagles selling more than 700,000 copies of "Long Road to Eden" at Wal-Mart outlets.
Billboard continues to make decisions on bonus packages that mystify many people in the industry. In many cases, a major star - Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, etc. - can release a second version of a hit album that includes new songs, new mixes and videos, but its sales are included with the initial release.
Other discs - and this often affects soundtracks -  are almost always split between regular and deluxe editions, regardless of their time of release. There have been exceptions, though, and that seems to drive some execs bonkers. Just like the folks who want the world to know "Thriller 25" is the No. 2 seller in the country.

Coalition of Independent Music Stores Top 20 for week ending Feb. 10
1 Jack Johnson- Sleep Through The Static
2 Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend
3 Radiohead - In Rainbows
4 Juno soundtrack
5 Mars Volta - Bedlam In Goliath
6 Cat Power - Jukebox
7 Nada Surf -Lucky
8 Plant/Krauss - Raising Sand
9 Drive-By Truckers  - Brighter Than Creations Dark
10 Sheryl Crow - Detours
11 Bob Mould - District Line
12 Shelby Lynne - Just A Little Lovin
13 Hot Chip - Made In The Dark
14 k.d.lang - Watershed
15 Carolyn Wonderland - Miss Understood
16 Magnetic Fields - Distortion
17 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular
18 Helio Sequence - Keep Your Eyes
19 Amy Winehouse - Back To Black
20 Matt Costa - Unfamiliar Faces

The top 20 from the Coalition of Independent Music Stores includes four soundtracks and the notion that the Dap-Kings are one killer band. Sia and Kate Nash were the debuts; Sia was No. 26 and Nash came in at No. 36 on the Nielsen Soundscan chart.

Pos.    ARTIST|TITLE
1    Radiohead - IN RAINBOWS
2    "Juno" SOUNDTRACK
3    Robert Plant/Alison Krauss - RAISING SAND
4    Various - KGSR Broadcast Vol. 15
5    Iron & Wine - SHEPHERD'S DOG
6    "Once" SOUNDTRACK
7    Band of Horses - CEASE TO BEGIN
8    Feist - REMINDER
9    Spoon -GA GA GA GA GA
10    Levon Helm - DIRT FARMER
11    Kate Nash - MADE OF BRICKS
12    Sia - SOME PEOPLE HAVE REAL PROBLEMS
13    M.I.A. - KALA
14    Various - I'm Not There 
15    Eddie Vedder - MUSIC FOR INTO THE WILD
16    Bruce Springsteen - MAGIC
17    Led Zeppelin  - MOTHERSHIP
18    Sharon Jones - 100 DAYS 100 N
19    Amy Winehouse - BACK TO BLACK
20    Lupe Fiasco - LUPE FIASCO'S THE COOL

Don Van Cleave of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores  reports  in his weekly email that Radiohead's "In Rainbows" was his favorite album of the year and notes "Many of our customers bought the vinyl after listening to crappy
small MP3's on ear buds for three month's. Hopefully when they put it
on the table they might actually notice how amazing this record really sounds."
"In Rainbows' topped the vinyl and over CIMS charts for the week ending Jan. 6
The overall top 10 from independent retailers:
1 Radiohead "In Rainbows"
2 Robert Plant & Alison Krauss ' "Raising Sand"
3 Various  "KGSR Broadcast Vol. 15"
4 Iron & Wine "Shepherd's Dog"
5 Feist "Reminder"
6 Levon Helm - "Dirt Farmer"
7 M.I.A. "Ikala"
8 "Once" soundtrack
9 Spoon "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga"
10 Band of Horses "Cease to Begin"

Slots 11-30 (unedited) follow

With the "Juno" soundtrack showing impressive sales numbers in its digital only week - and the expectation that it will hit No. 1 next week at around 100,000 sold - starts to make one wonder if the death certificate for the film soundtrack was not signed a little early.
"Juno," dominated by the acoustic work of Kimya Dawson, is one of those rare entries that holds together as a single entity with other works flowing around hers. Other soundtracks, some as artful, some not, are selling briskly, as well.
"Alvin & the Chipmunks" keeps rising on the chart, it's now No. 13, despite selling fewer copies than the last two weeks. It sold 33,000 in the week ended Sunday.
In addition, cumulative sales for individual tracks from the soundtrack are nearing 1 million, accoridng to the label, Razor & Tie. The Chipmunks are also the only artist with four songs on the top 100 singles sales chart.
After that, it's:
"Sweeney Todd," up five to No. 18, selling 31,000 for a cume of 126,000.
The DVD release of "Once" a week before Christmas has meant significant leaps on the chart. This week it's No. 38, up from 74 and, the week before that, 122. It sold 20,000 in the latest frame bringing its cume 260,000.
"P.S. I Love  You" rose 64 slots to No. 70, selling 13,000 in its second week.
"Enchanted" was down two to No. 86 selling 11,000.
The deluxe edition of "Across the Universe" sold 8,000, about half the previous week's tally, yet dropped only four slots to No. 105.
Eddie Vedder's "Into the Wild" dropped four grand to 7,000 and rose one slot to No. 188. Its cume is 213,000.

Buoyed by a record sales week, British music sales saw individual track sales soar in 2007 and CDs slump by about 10%.
The British Phonographic Industry reported that 77.6 million songs were downloaded legally in the U.K. last year, up from 52.5 million in 2006.The BPI did not release specific figures on CD sales, noting only that sales were down about 10%.CDs represent 95% of all music sold in the country.
In the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, 2.95 million tracks were purchased, a record, topping the same week from 2006 by nearly 1 million sales.
Topping the download chart were songs by "X Factor" winners Leon Jackson ("When You Believe") and Leona Lewis ("Bleeding Love").Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" was the year's top-selling album, coming in at 2 million moved.
The U.K.'s Top 10 Downloads feature at least five tracks that will never crack the U.S. marketplace.

1. When You Believe - Leon Jackson
2. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis
3. Apologize - Timbaland featuring One Republic
4. Crank That - Soulja Boy
5. Rule The World - Take That
6. Call The Shots - Girls Aloud
7. Valerie - Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse
8. Fairytale Of New York - Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl
9. Goodbye Mr A - Hoosiers
10. Heartbroken - T2 featuring Jodie Aysha

Josh Groban's "Noel" leads the Christmas charge as a full 26 albums with holiday themes make it into the top 200 this week. Many of the titles are available exclusively at certain retailers, but since the altering of the top 200 requirements - we'll call it the Eagles Rule - the flood has come in holiday titles. SoundScan, for whatever reason, is not posting cumulative totals for several of the albums, leaving the dirty work of doing math to us. And Taylor Swift's disc, for some inexplicable reason, was left off last week's list where it would have landed at No. 88. It is No. 46 this week. At the end of the season, we'll tally it up to determine who is No. 2 in the most unwatched sales race of the year. Noticeably absent from the list are any hip-hop albums. Seems like it has been a long time since Run-DMC's "Christmas in Hollis," the only hip-hop holiday tune with any staying power. 
The top 26 (year to date) of holiday albums released this season are:
Josh Groban - Noel (1.5 million sold)
Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas Song (289,000)
Toby Keith - A Classic Christmas (151,000)
Various - Stockings By the Fire (142,000)
Disney Channel Holiday (141,000)
Kidz Bop Kids - Coolest Kidz Bop Christmas (58,000)
Relient K - Let It Snow Baby (45,000)
Elvis Presley - Home for the Holidays (42,000)
Soundtrack - This Christmas (42,000)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - EP (41,000)
Taylor Swift - Sounds of the Season (39,000)
Michael W. Smith - It's a Wonderful Christmas (39,000)
Mannheim Steamroller - Christmas Traditions (38,000)
Various - Hear Something Country Christmas (35,000)
Randy Travis - Songs of the Season (33,000)
Various - WOW Gospel Christmas (27,000)
Marie Osmond - Magic of Christmas (26,000)
Jim Brickman - Homecoming (23,000)
Elliot Yamin - Sounds of the Season (21,000)
Jars of Clay - Christmas Songs (19,000)
Yolanda Adams - What a Wonderful Time (14,000)
Various - Christmas No. 1's (13,000)*
Various - Celtic Ladies Christmas (6,000)*
Patti LaBelle - Miss Patti's Christmas (6,000)*
KT Tunstall - Sounds of the Season (5,000)*
Mormon Tabernacle Choir - Like an Angel (5,000)*
* first week of release

Coalition of Independent Music Stores Top 10 for the week ending Nov. 11
1 Jay-Z - American Gangster
2 Big Prime Da Ge - Prime Time
3 Sigur Ros - Hvarf/Heim
4 Plant/Krauss - Raising Sand
5 Angels & Airwaves - I-Empire
6 Gram Parsons & Flying Burrito Brothers - Archive, Vol. 1
7 Levon Helm - Dirt Farmer
8 Band Of Horses - Cease To Beg
9 Neil Young - Chrome Dreams Ii
10 Iron & Wine - Shepherd's Dog