With 2015 just a few days old, reports are being updated and compiled to reflect how 2014 did music-wise in terms of album purchases, streaming and downloads.
As previously reported, the top-selling albums of 2014 resulted in the genre of hip-hop completely missing the mark, with not a single album making it to the top 10 list.
A new year-end report issued by Nielson Music confirms more damage to the genre last year — that rap album sales sold 24.1 percent less than in 2013. Of that statistic, CD sales specifically plunged more than 29.6 percent.
The genre of hip-hop, according to the Nielson report, suffered at nearly double the rate as other genres in the music industry in general did.
Looking at the digital side of things is not much of an silver lining either, with digital sales falling 21.8 percent.
The main source of good news lies in the fact that for hip-hop and R&B streaming numbers increased significantly, helping to contribute overall to the music industry's streaming growth, which saw a 54 percent increase overall from 2013. Hip-hop and R&B's popularity is growing in the streaming world, with many artists releasing mixtapes and albums available for streaming prior to an official release.
Unfortunately, the fact remains that hip-hop album sales were just about double the percentage decline for overall genres, which fell at 11.2 percent.
While still on the lower end of the spectrum sales-wise, J. Cole ended his 2014 on a high note, ranking as the top-selling rap album of the year with 577,000 copies sold.
Readers: Do you have faith in hip-hop releases succeeding in this new year? What is your preferred format: download, streaming or purchasing music? Why do you think 2014 saw such a decrease in the support of commercial hip-hop? Do you think streaming is hurting the music industry? Comment below.
