NARM Warns: Look At Catalog Sales Before You Get Too Excited About A Music Sales Bump

“This week’s Nielsen SoundScan top releases show a noteworthy combination of new, established, and classic artists, from J.Cole’s debut rocketing in at #1, to the strong showing of the Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon reissue and the new Blink 182 release as well as the continued performance of Tony Bennett’s Duets II and Nirvana’s Nevermind," says NARM President Jim Donio.

"Compared with the same week in 2010, year-to-date overall albums are up 3%, albums with Track Equivalents (TEA) are up 5%, digital albums are up 20%, and tracks are up 11%, and when you dig in to the numbers, there is a strong gain in both catalog and deep catalog titles underpinning the current sales – something I think you see reflected in this week’s top releases.” he warns.