US albums sales hit all time low

The United States has seen its biggest drop in album sales since records began this week.

Nielson SoundScan, which tracks sales data, reported that only 3.97million albums were bought in the US in the last week. The lowest weekly sales it has recorded since they began tracking in 1991 and the first time it has fallen below the 4 million mark.

Overall, the American music market has seen a worrying trend in total album sales in the last year, already being down by 14.6% when compared to last year and dropping by 100,000s every quarter.

A number of record executives have attributed the trend to the growth of streaming services such as Spotify and Last.FM, but with recent number one records going to those who shift less than 100,000 copies, how long does this format have?

[Via NME]

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