|
Powered by a 72 percent increase in on-demand
audio streaming, eight of the top 10 albums came from the world
of rap or R&B, including Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN," Drake's "More
Life" and "24K Magic" by Bruno Mars, according to Nielsen
Music's 2017 year-end report, released on Wednesday.
Rap and R&B also dominate the Grammy awards later in January,
with rapper Jay-Z and Lamar leading nominations.
In a reflection of the demise of rock among young people, the
Coachella music festival line-up announced earlier this week
featured no rock headliner for the first time in the 19-year
history of the three-day Southern California event.
Pop star Taylor Swift had the biggest album of 2017 in terms of
sales with "Reputation," with 1.9 million units sold, Nielsen
said. The album, Swift's first in three years, was kept off
streaming for the first three weeks after its release in
November.
But it was Sheeran whose music dominated radio, digital and
streaming in 2017. "Divide" notched up 2.7 million units,
including sales and streaming activity, and the 26 year-old
singer-songwriter's single "Shape of You" spent 33 weeks on
Billboard's Hot 100 chart and was streamed one billion times.
Billboard charts tally units from album sales, song sales (10
songs equal one album) and streaming activity (1,500 streams
equal one album).
Vinyl sales surged for a 12th year in a row - up 9 percent in
2017 - especially among older fans. The top selling vinyl albums
were The Beatles "Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," powered
by a 50th anniversary reissue, and the British band's 1969
release, "Abbey Road."
(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
