Discussion: SoundScan Sound Off
Wednesday, December 17th, 2008
In this era of rampant piracy and economic recession, things aren’t looking good for the music industry. We don’t post too often about the business side of the music business here, as we tend to keep the focus on the music. But the reality is that these numbers matter. If Little Big Town’s second Equity album had performed as well as the first, the label might still be in business.
It’s not all doom and gloom, as many artists go on to make their best music once they leave major labels. But this Christmas, you can guarantee that some artists and record executives will be bracing for the New Year, while others are embracing it.
Here’s a look at some totals for albums released in 2008, ranked by total sales (rounded to the nearest thousand):
- Taylor Swift, Fearless – 1,519,000
- Sugarland, Love on the Inside – 1,179,000
- George Strait, Troubadour – 693,000
- Alan Jackson, Good Time – 628,000
- Toby Keith, 35 Biggest Hits – 530,000
- Kenny Chesney, Lucky Old Sun – 479,000
- Faith Hill, Joy to the World – 341,000
- Lady Antebellum, Lady Antebellum – 337,000
- James Otto, Sunset Man – 332,000
- Rascal Flatts, Greatest Hits Volume 1 – 330,000
- Darius Rucker, Learn to Live – 284,000
- Julianne Hough, Julianne Hough – 260,000
- Toby Keith, That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy – 224,000
- Jewel, Perfectly Clear – 203,000
- Dierks Bentley, Greatest Hits: Every Mile a Memory - 195,000
- Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song – 183,000
- Heidi Newfield, What Am I Waiting For – 162,000
- Jessica Simpson, Do You Know – 153,000
- Brad Paisley, Play – 137,000
- Kellie Pickler, Kellie Pickler – 129,000
- Montgomery Gentry, Back When I Knew it All – 127,000
- Tim McGraw, Greatest Hits Vol. 3 – 127,000
- Emmylou Harris, All I Intended to Be – 119,000
- Zac Brown Band, Foundation – 118,000
- Randy Travis, Around the Bend – 89,000
- Ashton Shepherd, Sounds So Good - 84,000
- Jimmy Wayne, Do You Believe Me Now – 81,000
- Trace Adkins, X – 72,000
- Billy Currington, Little Bit of Everything – 65,000
- Blake Shelton, Startin’ Fires – 60,000
- Hank III, Damn Right Rebel Proud – 47,000
- Lee Ann Womack, Call Me Crazy – 45,000
- Joey + Rory, Life of a Song – 44,000
- Patty Loveless, Sleepless Nights – 38,000
- Craig Morgan, Greatest Hits – 34,000
- Craig Morgan, That’s Why – 31,000
- Randy Owen, One on One – 22,000
- Randy Houser, Anything Goes – 17,000
Category Discussion
Tags: Alan Jackson, Ashton Shepherd, Billy Currington, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Craig Morgan, Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Emmylou Harris, Faith Hill, George Strait, Hank Williams III, Heidi Newfield, James Otto, Jamey Johnson, Jessica Simpson, Jewel, Jimmy Wayne, Joey + Rory, Julianne Hough, Kellie Pickler, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Lee Ann Womack, Montgomery Gentry, Patty Loveless, Randy Houser, Randy Owen, Randy Travis, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, Trace Adkins, Zac Brown Band
Randy Owen, former lead singer of Alabama, is trying to make his way back onto country radio as a solo artist. Unfortunately, “Like I Never Broke Her Heart” lacks distinction both in lyrics and production.
I wasn’t aware that Randy Owen was planning on doing any solo recordings, especially since Alabama is still putting out new studio albums. That band’s long-standing association with St. Jude’s Children Hospital makes the subject of “Braid My Hair” less surprising than it normally would be: a young girl with cancer wishing to be strong again, so she can do things that other girls do, including braiding her hair.
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