Old Albums Outselling New Albums For the First Time Ever

Nielsen SoundScan started tracking U.S. album sales back in 1991. Two weeks ago, it was the first time that old albums outsold new albums since tracking began. Catalog albums (albums older than 18 months old) reached sales of 76.6 million in the first half of 2012 whereas current album sales reached 73.9 million albums in the same time frame. Nielsen analyst David Bakula believes the trend is partially related to the cost of catalog albums vs. current albums. “I really, truly do believe that there probably is a consumer that is buying music here that wasn’t buying music in the past,” pointing to the average catalog album ranging between $5.99 and $10.99 while current albums can range between $12.99 and $17.99. What’s your recent buying habits been like lately? Have you bought a limited edition version of Michael Jackson’s Thriller over Odd Future’s The OF Tape Vol. 2? Leave your answers in the comments section.