More Year-End Music Analysis

The analysis of year-end music sales data from Nielsen Soundscan for the US in 2010 shows how the music business continues to change...and concentrate. Here are a few nuggets from the Nielsen numbers:
·         1/3 of all physical albums were purchased at big box retailers - This category includes Walmart, Target and the like. But it does not include Best Buy, which was put in a separate category.
·         Only 8% of albums came from independent retailers
·         26% of all music sales took place through Amazon and iTunes. This includes both physical and digital music.
·         Rap was the only genre to see an increase in 2010