1. No Thanks, Spotify: Coldplay Just Set a Digital Album Sales Record...
Monday, October 31, 2011
by paul
This is exactly the opposite result that Spotify wanted. Because after skipping Spotify entirely on
their latest release, Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay has now scored a one-week, digital album sales
record in the UK. That is, digital sales north of 83,000, part of an impressive, chart-topping tally
of 208,343 units in the UK alone.
Digital accounted for nearly 40 percent of that total, a trend first picked up after three days of
sales. And, that offers a strong lead-in to the US-based tally, expected from Soundscan in the
next day or so.
The Coldplay total beats a relatively fresh digital album record from Take That, and the rapid
succession isn't an accident. Indeed, digital albums are still showing strong growth on a
percentage basis, and Coldplay seems motivated to maximize returns from the gain.
All of which begs the more important question: what does this all mean for Spotify, Rhapsody,
Rdio, and ilk? The question is whether Coldplay-level bands start rethinking their sales
approaches entirely, spurred by this success. As one publisher remarked to us this morning,
"getting played is nice, getting paid is better."