Third Quarter Country Music Sales Low, Improvement Expected in Q4

9 years ago Liv Carter Comments Off on Third Quarter Country Music Sales Low, Improvement Expected in Q4
kenny chesney the big revival album cover
Columbia/Blue Chair

In the third quarter of 2014, the sales numbers for country music were depressingly low. It tends to be a quieter quarter, since the summer months include fewer big releases, but these numbers will have inspired some discussion in record label board rooms.

The biggest selling album remains Luke Bryan‘s Crash My Party, which adds 170,000 copies to its overall sales in Q3. This same album also topped this list in Q3 of 2013, which is a little depressing, not only because such a generic and uninteresting album continues to sell so well, but mainly because it shows very clearly that the big releases since have markedly underperformed. The newest albums are not off to a bad start though, with Kenny Chesney‘s The Big Revival selling 130,000, and Tim McGraw‘s Sundown Heaven Town almost reaching 100k units. The artist who arguably did best is Chase Rice. His debut album, Ignite the Night, shifted 84,000 in its first few weeks without the draw of a big radio hit. Sure, as a co-writer of ‘Cruise’ he had part of the FGL crowd on his side already, but still, this is a pretty impressive sales effort.

On the single downloads front, none breached the one million mark, and only two got anywhere near it: Jason Aldean‘s ‘Burnin’ It Down,’ and Florida Georgia Line‘s ‘Dirt.’ The surprise here is Sam Hunt‘s ‘Leave the Night On,’ which shot to platinum status in no time with 526,000 downloads. As with Rice, he built recognition as a songwriter first, and his patience seems to be paying off. The fans of his hitsongs, which include Keith Urban‘s ‘Cop Car’ and Kenny Chesney‘s ‘Come Over,’ were warmed up to him already before the debut single dropped.

The predictions for Q4 are much better, with several highly anticipated album and single releases. Most notibly Garth Brooks‘ comeback album, Man Against Machine, slated for November 11, and Jason Aldean’s Old Boots, New Dirt which dropped today, October 7. FGL is releasing the sophomore project, Anything Goes, on October 14, and Carrie Underwood will present her first greatest hits collection on December 9.

Top-Selling Country Albums, Third-Quarter 2014
1) Luke Bryan — Crash My Party 170,000
2) Miranda Lambert — Platinum 169,000
3) Brantley Gilbert — Just As I Am 165,000
4) Kenny Chesney — The Big Revival 130,000
5) Florida Georgia Line — Here’s to the Good Times 119,000
6) Tim McGraw — Sundown Heaven Town 94,000
7) Brad Paisley — Moonshine in the Trunk 90,000
8) Blake Shelton — Based on a True Story… 85,000
9) Chase Rice — Ignite the Night 84,000
10) Various Artists — Now That’s What I Call Country: Volume 7 80,000

Top-Selling Country Digital Songs, Third-Quarter 2014
1) Jason Aldean — “Burnin’ It Down” 970,000
2) Florida Georgia Line — “Dirt” 944,000
3) Kenny Chesney — “American Kids” 794,000
4) Lady Antebellum — “Bartender” 595,000
5) Dierks Bentley — “Drunk on a Plane” 581,000
6) Sam Hunt — “Leave the Night On” 526,000
7) Miranda Lambert duet with Carrie Underwood — “Somethin’ Bad” 460,000
8) Lee Brice — “I Don’t Dance” 445,000
9) Florida Georgia Line featuring Luke Bryan — “This Is How We Roll” 412,000
10) Luke Bryan — “Roller Coaster” 349,000

Liv Carter

Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.
Liv Carter