BROOKLYN, NY (Hypebot) – "In 1991, Soundscan launched and shook up the music industry by electronically tracking and reporting weekly music sales based on information reported to it from music retail stores across the country…"
"Labels, managers and artists used the data to leverage MTV, commercial radio, get more record into retail stores, justify marketing and tour budgets, get gigs, create other marketing opportunities or alternately decide that a record was dead."
"…TuneCore Artists like Nevershoutnever, Boyce Avenue, Secondhand Serenade, Kelly, Harry & The Potters, Jesus Culture, and Colt Ford literally sell hundreds of thousands of songs spread over multiple EPs, full length albums and singles. Should a band that sells 500,000 songs in one month spread across multiple releases be thought of as less successful than a band that sells 50,000 copies of an album in one month? What about gig and merchandise income?"
"And what about the arbitrary concept of looking at a week’s worth of sales, why not a days, or a months, or a years? Things are moving much faster. More music is being recorded and released. Music buyers are moving faster too. Seems to me that the age-old concept of weekly album sales has lost its relevancy."
"It’s time to get a new system that more accurately reflects the new 'IT' and this time, it’s important not to consolidate the power of the reporting into the hands of one company."
