Post Grammy Sales
The latest issue of Billboard reports on the fact that after this year’s Grammy Awards, the industry did not experience massive sales growth like previous years, which have seen increases “as much as one to two million in incremental sales.”(1)
Grammy ratings are down since last year, and there is simply a lack of interest among young viewers.(2) A week after the show aired, only certain artists have benefited from the exposure the Grammy Awards traditionally bring.
Amy Winehouse, who raked in five Grammy Awards, has seen a jump from number 24 to number 2 on the Billboard 200 with her album “Back to Black.” Nielsen SoundScan reports this as a 368% increase. The week after the Grammy’s gave “Back to Black” a new peak performance number on the top 200, and its best sales week to date. (3) Billboard magazine suggests that in addition to her awards, her performance on the program helped boost sales by formally introducing the singer to the mainstream consumer.(4)
Also performing on the program, Herbie Hancock, whose album “River: The Joni Letters” won the award for Album of the Year, saw a rise to number 5 from number 159 on the top 200 with that album. At a 967% increase, the week following the Grammy Awards proved to be Hancock’s best sales week of the SoundScan era.5
It’s important to note that the “Non-Traditional” retail category, which includes Internet sales and digital downloads, provided almost instant sales response for these two albums. Billboard reports that on Amazon.com, “Back to Black” rose to number 1 on their sales chart immediately after the show ended. “River: The Joni Letters” rose to number 2. It was at this time that Winehouse and Hancock also entered the iTunes Top 10.(6)
1 Christman, Ed. “Gala, But Gold?” Billboard 23 Feb. 2008: 37.
2 Ibid.
3 “Big Grammy Gains For Many; King of Pop Returns.” Billboard.biz 20 Feb. 2008:
4 Christman, Ed. “Gala, But Gold?” Billboard 23 Feb. 2008: 37.
5 “Big Grammy Gains For Many; King of Pop Returns.” Billboard.biz 20 Feb. 2008:
6 Christman, Ed. “Gala, But Gold?” Billboard 23 Feb. 2008: 37.
