Pandora is just a radio station, so it’s likely seen a bit more as a promotional tool than as something that will cannibalize album sales: You won’t be able to play 25 straight through on Pandora.
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Canadian pop star Justin Bieber edged out British boy band One Direction in a battle to the top of the US Billboard 200 album chart, but his reign will be short-lived as British singer Adele looks to break records with her new release. The first week of release of the album will end on Thursday so it is expected that the album’s sale will go higher with the remaining days. “It was a flattering luxury knowing we sold more records than anyone in a week but it’s also nice seeing people continue to be passionate about music in the next generations”.
Adele’s second album “21” sold 208,000 copies in its first week in January 2011.
Part of the reason 25 has sold so well is because Adele and her labels declined to offer it on streaming music services for the time being, forcing fans who’d normally listen on a subscription service to purchase the record outright. Since its format is very different from online streaming sites, the rules preventing streaming services from carrying songs and albums that artists specifically stated shouldn’t be on streaming sites do not apply to Pandora.
They say that “Hello” seems to be even more popular than Adele’s previous hit “Someone Like You”. By charting on across multiple formats, Adele’s music is inescapable, luring fans of all genres to buy her records.
These stats certainly don’t give Pandora a get-out-of-jail-free card to wield against scrutiny of its royalties payments, but they do provide an answer to the (understandable) question of what streaming services are investing in the creative industry that fuels their businesses.
Taylor Swift’s “1989” album was the last record to achieve the milestone when it opened with almost 1.3 million copies a year ago.
“25” would be the fastest-selling album since at least 1991, when Nielsen Music started to track weekly music sales in a methodical way.
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The album’s smashing success is attributed not just to Adele’s great artistic command, as reflected throughout her album, but also to her instinctive acumen for business.
