Country music sales are off 10 percent from last year.
But with releases by Kenny Chesney and Big & Rich still to come and the Country Music Association broadcasting its annual awards show this month, no one is panicking.
"We still have a chance to make it up and get up to last year's final tally," said Bill Kennedy, vice president of sales for Capitol Records Nashville.
Through the week ending Oct. 2, country music sold about 45.2 million units, compared to 50.2 million units for the same period last year - a 10 percent drop, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
But country isn't the only genre struggling in 2005. Across all genres, music sales fell from about 445.5 million units to 414.6 million units - a 7 percent decline.
The 2004 calendar was packed with albums from blockbuster acts Toby Keith, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and Keith Urban, as well as the surprise showing by newcomers Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich.
"We realized we'd be down as an industry this year," said Joe Galante, chairman of RCA Label Group/Nashville. "We didn't have the same caliber of releases and in the same quantity."
Recent albums by Keith, Faith Hill and George Strait have sold more than a million copies each, and several others have reached the 500,000 mark, including Brad Paisley, LeAnn Rimes, Dierks Bentley, Trace Adkins, Brooks & Dunn and Trisha Yearwood.
Honestly the "regular group" of artists put out so much of the same music that you kinda get sick of hearing it and them. How many has Kenny Chesney put out in the last year alone?? I am very selective now with the music I buy. Have only bought 2 cd's in the last year Seth Turner (awesome indy artist who will see huge things in his career soon) and Gary Allan.
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my mouth is OFTEN in motion before my mind is in gear!
i know what your saying. I have'nt bought a huge range this year either. I get sent a lot of indie cd's, and some of them are really great, differant sounds i guess. There is a lot of music now days that is prefabricated. Not that i don't enjoy listening to top 40 stuff, but i like to hear something differant every now and then too
