Weekly Music Sales Report: 25 April 2012

It was a much better week than the one before, thanks in large part to Record Store Day (more on that in a second).  Overall sales are up 4% and up 4% for the year. CD sales are still dropping--down 7% over this same time last year--while digital albums are up 34% year-over-year.  Sales of individual digital tracks are pacing 31% ahead of 2011.

The biggest album in the land is Love Is a Four Letter Word from Jason Mraz.  In its debut week, it sold a respectable (for 2012) 19,000 copies.  Patrick Watson's Adventures in Our Own Backyard comes in a #2 with a surprisingly strong 14,500 units.  The final Top 10 debut comes with Train and California 37 at #6 with 6,000 copies.  

Adele watchers shouldn't worry.  Ms. Adkins is sitting in third spot, having sold just a hair under 10,000 copies of 21. 

And Madonna?  Hang on, lemme look.  It's here...somwhere.  Looking...looking...looking--ah!  Here it is! MDNA drops 10-14 and sells just 2,500 copies in all of Canada last week.

The biggest digital download still belongs to Gotye.  Another 40,000 people downloaded "Somebody That I Used to Know."

Record Store Day was a hit in Canada.  Physical CD sales actually increased by a healthy 7% over last week.  The bigger story is vinyl which had a 96% spike from a week ago.  Think there will be a Record Store Day 2013?  

On the American side of things, overall album sales are down 3% and could have been much worse had it not been for Record Store Day.  Vinyl sales took a 187% spike in the US last week, all due to that event.

Lionel Ritchie hangs on to the #1 spot with his countrified Tuskagee with another 114,000 units.  Jason Mraz ended up at #2 (102,000) and Train sits at #4 (75,000).  Adele takes the #3 spot with 90,000 copies of 21.  

And Madonna?  Give me a minute...  Here she is!  MDNA falls 18-33, selling just 12,000 copies in all of the US of A.  What went wrong, Madge?

All figures courtesy of Nielsen Soundscan.

Finally, the biggest download of the past week is "Payphone" by Maroon 5 wtih 493,000 purchases.