Lately various countries added track sales and streaming to their national album chart. And from this week on, the biggest music market of the world, the USA, makes the same. The official Billboard Top 200 Album Chart combined now album sales (conversion factor 1:1), digital track sales (10:1) and streaming (1500:1). And it seems that other countries follow this example in the next time. Let us look back in the past: with the breakthrough of the Compact Disc at the end of the Eighties and the earlier Nineties, the global album sales grew strongly with a peak in the second half of the Nineties. But now, for over 10 years the global album sales shrink dramatically. What happened?? The main reason for this decline was the new market of the Digital Tracks! Today many people don't buy a complete album as before, but they looking for the best tunes of an album and purchase only these songs. Since one, two years there's another 'problem'... Streaming! More and more people having a subscription of Spotify or other streaming-providers and buying no longer music in digital or physical formats. That's why the downward momentum of the global album sales accelerated this year and for the first time ever also the digital track sales are on the way down. Several times in the last months i thought about it, to give it up the Global Album Chart, because the worldwide sales fall further and further (certainly also in the coming years). I will summarize again: the Digital Track Sales and Streaming are the reasons for the decay of the global album sales, and that's why we follow the example of the US-Billboard Chart and other... from the week 2, 2015 on, we'll integrate Track Sales and Streaming to the Global Album Chart. It was a very difficult decision, but believe it or not, a pure sales-based album chart has no future! The additional sales from Digital Tracks and Streaming bringing a fair compensation and incidentally more stability!... and now to the current hitlist: with the first full week of the holiday season the most albums in the Top 40 showing sales increases, also Taylor Swift's million seller '1989', which returns to the summit of the Global Album Chart for a third week, driven by a 21% sales boost to 380.000. After five weeks on the tally the album moved a total of 3.394.000 copies. One Direction's 'Four' started easily at no.1 last week with 881.000 copies, now it slides at no.2 after second-week sales of 312.000. It seems that this year's most successful holiday album will be 'That's Christmas For Me' by the American A-Cappella group Pentatonix. The set makes another big jump from no.7 to no.3 after a massive 118% sales explosion to 235.000 copies. Michael Bublé's 'Christmas' classic slips two places at no.14, but wins also considerable 62% in sales to 89.000 copies. Highest debut this week is the first best-of compilation from Eminem's Shady label. 'ShadyXV' bows at no.4 with 206.000 units. David Guetta arrives at no.7 with his new effort 'Listen' and 152.000 sales, shy behind at no.10 starts the South Korean boy band BigBang with their compilation 'Best Of 2006-2014' and 120.000 sales. Some additional sales stats: '.5: The Gray Chapter' by Slipknot sold 26.000 copies last week and reaches a total of 504.000 so far, 'Nostalgia' by Annie Lennox sold 21.000 units last week, 184.000 so far, 'Popular Problems' by Leonard Cohen sold 16.000 units last week and has a total of 427.000 units so far, Beyoncé's self-titled album sold 3.564.000 copies so far, 'Ghost Stories' by Coldplay 2.893.000, and 'X' by Ed Sheeran 2.647.000.
The gods of all those Asian girlie idol groups, AKB 48, landing their 18th global number one smash! 'Kibôteki Refrain' shoots atop with 551.000 points after stellar initial sales in Japan, as usual. Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space' remains denied the victory, last week Band Aid 30's 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' exploded atop with 364.000 points (this week at no.16 with 135.000 points and this week AKB 48 rules clearly. So 'Blank Space' holds tight at no.2, but wins another 14% in points to 408.000. Meghan Trainor's 'All About The Bass' is also still at no.3 with 304.000 points and jumps over the 6 million points border in total after 19 weeks on the tally. That's why the song debuts at no.361 on the ALL TIME CHART. One song from the soundtrack of the new 'Hunger Games' movie makes headlines, composed and produced by James Newton Howard and performed by actress Jennifer Lawrence, 'The Hanging Tree' becoming a huge worldwide success and bows at no.9 this week with 203.000 points. Outside the Top 40 waiting among other Iggy Azalea feat. Mo's 'Beg For It' at no.49, Fergie's 'L.A. Love' at no.53, Big Sean feat. E 40's 'I Don't F**k With You' at no.56, and Take That's 'These Days' at no.55 for their first appearance on the big list.
The fourth version of the legendary Xmas charity song 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' exploded with a big bang atop the Global Track Chart next week and 364.000 points! The original version from 1984 was six weeks at the summit. Especially in United Kingdom it was a spectacular success, with more than 750.000 sales in the start-week and 3,7 million sales to date. it's the second most successful single of all time in UK, only Elton John's necrology 'Candle In The Wind' sold more with 4,9 million. The second version of 'Do They Know It's Christmas' from 1989, produced by Stock / Aitken / Waterman, reached no.8 globally and ten years ago the third version went to on.2. The line-up of the new Band Aid outfit included, as usual, many of British music giants, like Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Coldplay, One Direction, Ellie Goulding, Clean Bandit, Emeli Sandé, Rita Ora, Bastille, Sinéad O'Connor, Bono and of course Bob Geldof. The earnings of the song go to the victims of the Ebola tragedy in West-Africa. Back to the current tally, at no.2 remains Taylor Swift's 'Blank Space' with 358.000 points and the leader of the last eight weeks, Meghan Trainor's 'All About That Bass', throws down at no.3 with 296.000 points. One of the biggest hits of 2014, 'Rather Be' by Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne, is on the way out of the Top 40, in its 44th week on the tally it falls from no.31 to no.39 with 82.000 points. But at the last moment it enters the ALL TIME CHART at no.347 with a total of 6.070.000 points. By the way, the new Clean Bandit smash 'Real Love' lands at no.41 this week. Also outside the Top 40 waiting among other Toy feat. Crush & Beenzino's 'U&I' at no.45, Big Sean feat. E 40's 'I Don't F**k With You' at no.54 and I Love Makonnen feat. Drake's 'Tuesday' at no.55 for their first appearance on the big list.
British teenie-sensation One Direction shoots easily at no.1 on the Global Album Chart with their new set 'Four'. It sold massive 881.000 copies globally in its first week at retail, with the biggest sales in the USA (387.100), United Kingdom (141.800), and Japan (67.600). It's the third global no.1 album for One Direction, their former effort 'Midnight Memories' entered the tally nearly one year ago in the week 50 with stellar 1.206.000 copies and two years ago in the week 48 'Take Me Home' opened with 1.045.000 sales. Taylor Swift holds no.2 in its fourth week on the hitlist with another 315.000 sales, a 29% decline compared to the previous week and a total of 3.014.000 copies. '1989' ranks also at no.2 on the year-to-date-list now and overtakes Coldplay's 'Ghost Stories' (2.863.000 copies). Last week's big leader, Pink Floyd's 'The Endless River', flows down at no.3 after a 68% sales shrinkage to 213.000 units. The eight studio album of the Canadian pop / rock outfit Nickelback is this week's second highest debut, 'No Fixed Address' bows at no.4 with 162.000 sales. Shy behind starts the 71 year-old singer / actor and icon in the French-speaking world, Johnny Hallyday, at no.5 with his new album 'Rester Vivant' and 138.000 sales. The holiday season has started and Michael Bublé's 'Christmas' album rises again as every year in November. This week it goes to no.12 with 55.000 sales. 'Christmas' is the most successful Xmas album of the 21st century and sold 8.845.000 copies so far, 350.000 of it this year. But on this week's tally there placed another holiday album in an upper region, 'That's Christmas To Me' by American a cappella group Pentatonix makes a big jump from no.24 to no.7, driven by a massive 218% sales boost to 108.000. Also on the list, 'Holiday Wishes' by 'Frozen' star Idina Menzel. It reaches no.23 with 37.000 copies. Some additional sales stats: 5 Second Of Summer's self-titled album sold 18.000 copies last week and reaches a total of 478.000 so far, 'Love In The Future' by John Legend sold 11.000 units last week, 1.202.000 so far, 'Midnight Memories' by One Direction sold 8.000 units last week and has a total of 4.211.000 units so far, 'In The Lonely Hour' by Sam Smith sold 2.045.000 copies so far, 'The Hunting Party' by Linkin Park 875.000, and 'Ultraviolence' by Lana Del Rey 1.157.000.
'All About That Bass' by Meghan Trainor holds the top position of the Global Track Chart for a seventh straight week and wins 8% in points to 388.000. Taylor Swift's 'Shake It Off' comes a little bit closer, because it wins 19% in points to 342.000. Directly behind arrives this week's highest debut, Japanese idol girlie group NMB 48 ("yawn") with their 9th global Top 10 smash 'Rashikunai'. The track enters the sales chart in Japan easily at no.1 with massive 420.000 copies moved, according to Oricon. Globally it enters at no.3 with 279.000 points. South Korean hip-hop artist MC Mong attacks the tally with three songs: 'I Miss You' (feat. The Truth) catapults at no.13 with 131.000 points, 'The Happiest Day Of My Life' (feat. Huh Gak) comes in at no.26 with 100.000 points, and 'Sick Enough To Die (Part 2)' (feat. Swedish Laundry) opens at no.38 with 74.000 points. Outside the Top 40 waiting among other Cheryl Cole's 'I Don't Care' at no.44, Nick Jonas' 'Jealous' at no.46, Ariana Grande's Love Me Harder' at no.50, Meghan Trainor's 'Lips Are Moving' at no.52, and Nicki Minaj feat. Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown's 'Only' at no.55 for their first appearance on the big list.
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