Music Sales Are Up For The First Time Since 2004

For The First Time In Ages, Music Sales Reports Don't Look Like This

Nielsen and Billboard have just released their 2011 Music Industry Report, and for the first time in eight years the number of total albums sold has gone up. You can check the figures here. And when you do so, you’ll also see that for the first time ever digital sales have beat phsycal music sales.

Still, just because sales are up from 2010 that doesn’t mean the industry’s “saved” or anything like that. It’s the beginning of a recovery process that will take a good couple of years.

And there should be no doubt in anybody’s mind that services like Spotify, Grooveshark and Rdio are to thank for this increase in sales. If anything, these services are responsible for instilling something that was unthinkable just some years ago: the concept of listening to music legally online.

It’s all gone full circle. Digital music hurt the industry at first, but now it’s making people support their favorite artists with their wallets again.

So, contrary to what lots of people predicted, digital music didn’t kill the industry in the end. It did exactly the opposite, giving it a whole new lease of life when least expected. It’ll be really interesting to see what the music report for 2012 looks like.

Provided the world hasn’t ended by then, that’s it.

My, the state these Mayans have left us all in…

Billboard Launches A Promotion Service For Unsigned Bands

Billboard pro

Never one to lose relevance, legendary music service Billboard has announced the launch of a paid service for young bands that want to track their sales and fan activity.

This service goes by the name of Billboard Pro, and it has been in beta since January.

Bands that sign up for Billboard Pro are provided with a heat score that determines their ranking on a chart of its very own named “Uncharted”.

And bands get the chance to be mentioned in the Billboard Bulletin, as well as having their songs rotated on the weekly playlist found on Billboard’s website.

This service can be tried for free for a full month. Once this trial period comes to an end, a membership will cost you $ 99/year.

DJ Earworm Mashes Up The Biggest Hits Of 2010

DJ Earworm

DJ Earworm

There you have the 25 finest Billboard Hits of 2010 mashed up together, courtesy of DJ Earworm.

This megamix (part of his “United State Of Pop” series) obviously includes artists like Ke$ha and Katy Perry, and for many people that is reason enough to skip it altogether. Yet, DJ Earworm’s chops are nothing short of impressive, and even those who hate the artists involved (a list that also includes Bruno Mars, Eminem, Taio Cruz and Lady Antebellum) could learn a thing or two from it.

This is the full list of artists/songs that are mashed up:

Ke$ha – Tik Tok
Lady Antebellum – Need You Now
Train – Hey, Soul Sister
Katy Perry Featuring Snoop Dogg – California Gurls
Usher Featuring will.i.am – OMG
B.O.B. Featuring Hayley Williams – Airplanes
Eminem Featuring Rihanna – Love the Way You Lie
Lady Gaga – Bad Romance
Taio Cruz – Dynamite
Taio Cruz Featuring Ludacris – Break Your Heart
B.O.B. Featuring Bruno Mars – Nothin’ On You
Enrique Iglesias Featuring Pitbull – I Like It
Young Money Featuring Lloyd – Bedrock
Jason Derulo – In My Head
Rihanna – Rude Boy
Lady Gaga Featuring Beyonce – Telephone
Katy Perry – Teenage Dream
Bruno Mars – Just the Way You Are
Mike Posner – Cooler Than Me
The Black Eyed Peas – Imma Be
Jay-Z + Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind
Usher Featuring Pitbull – DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love
Travie McCoy Featuring Bruno Mars – Billionaire
Eminem – Not Afraid
Iyaz – Replay