Album Sales Down As Gotye Named Highest Selling Single Of 2012

While album sales continue to decline because of an accelerating drop in CD sales, the digital track has passed the billion-unit mark for the first time this year, as reported by Billboard.

And the top selling digital single for 2012? It’s none other than Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know” (featuring Kimbra) with scans of nearly 6.5 million units, while overall sales of digital tracks closed out the nine-month mark with 1.009 billion units. Representing a 6% increase from last year’s 951.7 million units scanned in the same period in 2011.

Interestingly, however, US album sales are down 4.4% as digital album sales are up 15.3% to 85.5 million units. Similarly to digital sales, vinyl is also up dramatically – proving once again that the format is experiencing a renaissance – gainingd a 16.3% increase to 3.2 million units (from 2.7 million units this time last year). However, vinyl sales is still only about 1.5% of total U.S. album sales.

Following just behing the staggering sales of Gotye’s ubiquitous duet, and also surpassing the five million-unit milestone, is Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”, with 5.8 million units (who knocked Wally de Backer’s off his 8-week reign on the US Billboard charts).

It’s yet another accomplishment Gotye, aka Wally de Backer, can add to his bulging list of achievements, after also reportedly being one of the most illegally downloaded artists of the year, while the YouTube views for the accompanying film clip show so sign of slowing down, resting on 333+ million at the time of writing.

Though things may have settled down here on home soil, it’s set to heat up again as ARIA week is edging closer. Gotye is nominated for a whopping five nominations, including Album Of The Year, and Best Pop Release for Making Mirrors, as well as nominations for Best Australian Live Act and Best Male Artist.

Both Gotye and singing partner Kimbra have been focussing on the US for the majority of the year, both wrapping up mammoth tours earlier this year, which saw them perform the broken-hearted duet at Coachella, various US television appearances and, of course, climbing the music charts earlier in the year.

They return for the ARIA Awards ceremony at the tail end of November, before Gotye begins his Australia tour in December.

GOTYE AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2012 DATES

Thursday 6 December – Entertainment Centre, Adelaide

Tickets: ticketek.com.au or 132 849

Saturday 8 December – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne

Tickets: ticketek.com.au or 132 849

Wednesday 12 December – Riverstage, Brisbane

Tickets: ticketek.com.au or 132 849

Friday 14 December – Entertainment Centre, Sydney

Tickets: ticketek.com.au or 132 849