USA Today:

In the 52 weeks ending Jan. 2, album sales fell 13% to 326.2 million units, and digital track sales managed only a 1% gain, to 1.17 billion. That hefty consumption of downloads helped offset overall music losses, which fell only 2.4%. 

Piracy, vanishing record shops and decreasing shelf space in big-box stores continue to depress album sales, and the digital boom has been flattening. Only 13 albums sold more than 1 million copies in 2010, down from 22 in 2009. 

Labels remain optimistic about digital’s future. More than one-fourth of albums sold last year were downloads. 

What boomed in 2010? Vinyl. The throwback format grew 13%, with The Beatles‘ Abbey Road leading the charge. Consumers bought more vinyl albums in 2010 than any other year in SoundScan history. Fans bought 71% of vinyl albums in independent record stores.

Read the full article here, and then combine that news with this news: (more…)

One day … ONE day after gushing over how exciting the recession is now that those forced to work jobs they hate or who have lost them entirely can focus on their passions, Natalie Portman bought herself a $3 million castle-like estate.

Natalie, whoever’s advising you … fire them. If no one’s advising you, find someone who doesn’t carry a small dog in their purse or dates someone who does. Look to the real world for help. Look to someone who’s spent a few years in a land where the zip codes don’t start with “9-0.” Someone who cares enough about you and your career to say (without any “Honey, babys”):

“Nat, past the gates of your community and away from the hills of Hollywood losing your job doesn’t fuel passion, it fuels despair, and working a job you hate is almost as bad because of the big black  permanent ball of dread it plants in your gut. I know you dig Barack, I did too before he targeted my children and health care, but you can’t flak for his recession. That’s what the mainstream media is for. You have to empathize with your audience, build goodwill. Besides, you’re closing on that castle tomorrow, so today wouldn’t be a good time to get all gushy over how exciting Barack’s recession is. And if you do, I quit.” (more…)

Will someone fluent in Marie Antoinette-ese explain to me the words that are coming out of Ms. Portman’s mouth: 

“I think it’s kind of an exciting time. I mean, everyone is cutting back. It’s happening in every industry – including our own. All of a sudden, people are doing jobs that they hate and they’re not making as much money as they thought they would or they’ve lost their jobs entirely. I’ve started to see people looking more toward their own passions and what really excites them.”

Methinks someone got the Hollywood Talking Points. They must read something like: When Obama President Recession Good, which is probably number four after: (more…)

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Well, there you have it. I made my first big mistake of parking at the mall for Comi-Con and after having drinks with my “Ghostopolis” editor I discovered I racked up a parking bill for 54 dollars. That’s because I’m too cheap to pay the surrounding lot fees of 20 bucks. Sometimes it pays to not be so cheap, crafty or to read the small print on the parking sign.

Doug TenNapel (L) and fan at Comic-Con 2009

I got to meet my pals who come back to my booth every year and it’s always a special time to go face to face with my graphic-novel audience. I also do portfolio reviews of folks who are just starting to break into the world of comics. I love seeing good art, clear lay out and epic story-telling from 24 year olds. 24 year olds who can draw circles around me. 24 years who aren’t half way to dead like me. 24 year olds who, ah, heck I hate 24 year olds.

While I got soaked on mall parking it was nothing like what I paid to take my family of six to Legoland. “Wow, 20,000 blocks to make THAT!” is about all one can say during a trip to Legoland. (more…)

Recession?  What recession?

Big X here, broadcasting live to every corner of the globe via satellite from the legendary Peacock Lounge, high atop the mighty Breitbart Tower on Sunset and Cherokee in the heartless heart of Hollywood, U.S.A.!

Yes folks, you heard that right.  Your humble if nattily-dressed servant, Biggus Exxus, is now in possession of his very own Lockheed Martin A2100 communications satellite recently launched into geosynchronous orbit from the Guiana Space Centre on an Ariane 5 rocket!

Now, you might wonder how a mere journalist can afford to purchase a 93.7 million dollar satellite and a big, bee-yutiful 126.3 million dollar European launch vehicle, not to mention the ongoing overhead incurred by a ground-control crew, insurance and miscellaneous costs. (more…)

In this episode, “NewsBusted” covers: IMF, Recession, Insect Torture, Barack Obama Scholarship, New York TImes, Hezbollah, Audrina Patridge, HBO, Sarah Palin, Lisa Rinna, and Playboy magazine.

– 

Although America is suffering through its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, there is no recession in the movie business. Led by the Warner Bros reboot of Friday the Thirteenth and a couple of surprisingly strong chick flicks, Hollywood’s top twelve grossing movies may grab a combined $201.5M over the long President’s Day weekend holiday, which marks an all-time best for the annual 4-day movie-going bonanza.

TOP GROSSING PRESIDENT’S WEEKENDS FOR HOLLYWOOD
- combined gross of top 12 films -
1. 2009 – $201.5M (estimated)
2. 2007 – $167.8M
3. 2008 – $141.1M
4. 2003 – $141M
5. 2005 – $137.1M

Director Marcus Nispel (2003’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake) and the Platinum Dunes production company have gotten the all-new Friday the Thirteenth off to a spectacular $19.3M opening day. That could translate to a well-above-expectations $47M by Tuesday morning. The new Jason restart quickly follows the Platinum Dunes success of The Unborn, released on January 9 to a $19.8M 3-day take. That David D. Goyer written and directed genre pic was made for just $16M, and The Unborn has generated an estimated $42M in the US.

(more…)