digitalmusic.org | Digital Music

NARM/digitalmusic.org President Jim Donio released the following statement regarding this week’s sales:

“Taylor Swift stays strong at the top of the Billboard charts this week, beating out a hard-charging Bruno Mars to keep her #1 spot for the fifth non-consecutive week. It was a close race to the very end, with Mars exceeding industry expectations to sell 192,000 copies of Unorthodox Jukebox, only 16,000 less than Swift’s Red. It was also the best sales week in Mars’ career, handily beating the 61,000 copies he sold of debut album Doo-Wops & Hooligans back in March 2011. Mars is clearly a young star on his way up, and we are excited to watch him develop in the weeks, months, and years ahead. While album sales were down 5% year-over-year, digital track sales are up 1% compared to the same week last year and remain up 6% year-over-year. This is the last sales report we will receive before Christmas, but there are still five-plus days left in the holiday buying season, and we hope shoppers will keep the gift of music in mind when picking out presents for their friends and loved ones. Happy Holidays!”