Andre Yoskowitz
12 May 2011 12:24
According to the latest Nielsen figures, overall music sales in the U.S. have increased for the first time in years, mainly thanks to extremely strong sales of the Beatles digital catalog.
For the YTD (year-to-date) period, sales were up 1.6 percent, with digital track sales up 9.6 percent, making up for continued declines in physical CD sales.
Until the Beatles finally put their entire catalog on sale via digital distribution last November, growth in digital sales has slowed to just 3 percent, after seeing triple digit growth for most of the previous decade.
Since November, digital sales have been much higher, leading the firm to believe that the Beatles sales were the catalyst.
The sustained sales may also be attributed to Apple's strong marketing campaign for the Beatles music, which may have led an older generation to start buying music.
Vinyl record sales were also up 37 percent year-over-year, as the records have become a new "trend" for younger buyers.