For the First Time Ever, Older Albums Are Out-Selling Newer Albums

If albums are still worth billions of dollars, then a majority of those billions are now going to older releases. According to US-based data just released by Nielsen Music, older, ‘catalog’ albums outsold newly-released albums in 2015, the first time that has ever happened.

Nielsen categorizes an album as ‘catalog’ when its release date is more than 18 months ago. In almost all cases, an album has exhausted its new-release sales energy after that point, and becomes an older selection.

Outside of the specifics of 2015 and Adele, the broader trend makes sense. If older people are buying albums, then it makes sense that they’re also buying older music. But the trend raises serious questions for a music industry that is struggling to recover, and spending heavily on newer acts.

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