*US-based album sales during the first half were down 14.7 percent year-over-year, across all formats – CD, LP, digital album download, etc.
The tally for the first 26 weeks was 174.5 million units.
*The iPhone App Store is now one year old. In that period, the ranks have swelled to 50,000 apps, with more than one billion downloads.
*As the numbers continue to come in on the MJ memorial, web traffic appears historic – but not as heavy as the Obama inauguration or the moments following the Jackson death itself. On television, the event drew 31 million viewers across 19 networks, second only to the memorials of Ronald Reagan and Princess Diana.
*UK-based, ad-supported We7 is now approaching two million monthly users, according to a company announcement shared by Music Ally. Spotify has also crossed the two-million-mark in the UK.
*In Wall Street trading Wednesday, action was mostly uneventful for music-related stocks. A few terrestrial radio stocks showed volatility, while Warner Music Group (WMG), Live Nation (LYV), and Ticketmaster (TKTM) edged slightly downward.
Complete Wall Street wrap at
*The Digital Media Association (DiMA) gave a reserved thumbs up to the recently-announced webcaster settlement. “We are pleased that [Tuesday’s] royalty agreement between SoundExchange and pureplay webcasters will provide some relief from the crushing royalties that were imposed by the Copyright Royalty Board,” said Jonathan Potter, executive director of DiMA.
*And A2IM gives a positive nod. “The A2IM SoundExchange board representatives and the A2IM board of directors applaud the resolution of the webcasting rate issues with the pure play webcasters,” said A2IM president Rich Bengloff.