Sales of compilations such as the long-running Now! That's What I Call Music franchise are up.
Also this week, the soundtrack to the film "Pitch Perfect" (Universal) holds at No. 3 with 44,000 sales; a compilation of this year's Grammy nominees, released by Capitol and the Grammys' own label, is No. 4 with 41,000; and another compilation, "Kidz Bop 23" (Razor & Tie) fell three spots to No. 5 with 40,000.
Based on new figures from the BPI, officially released next month, compilation sales have grown significantly in the UK for the first time in a decade.
Investigators for the record companies suggest that for all the headlines and chatter generated by Mr. Simmons's case, the production and sale of unlicensed compilations has continued mostly unabated.
Bruce Resnikoff, president of Universal's catalog division, estimates compilation sales account for less than 3% of the $13.7 billion U.S. music business.
The popularity of downloadable content for music games has led the UK Official Download Chart to consider including these sales in their compilation of sales performance data.
Taraborrelli felt that at that moment, riding on Madonna's coattails proved profitable for everyone involved, including Warner Bros. Records, which notched up big sales with a compilation soundtrack album that was basically a showcase for its marginal artists.
All the profits made from sales of the compilation will got to War Child UK, a non-governmental organization focused on supporting children whose livelihoods are threatened by armed conflict.
Barring a minuscule uptick in 2007, compilation album sales have been falling steadily since 2004, when 39m were sold: iTunes arrived in the UK that year, allowing consumers for the first time to buy just the tracks they wanted.
At their sales peak, Oskido's Church Grooves compilations would sell "up to 200,000 copies".
