Album sales hit rock bottom

In a new Billboard article, the magazine notes that record sales for the week ending May 30 were the lowest since data began being collected in 1994. For comparison, the peak one-weak number was 45.4 million albums in late December, 2000. The week of May 30th, 2010, less than 5 million records were sold.

This led music executives to blame piracy, with Universal Music Group Distribution president Jim Urie remarking:

All the more reason why everyone in the industry should be focused on getting the U.S. Congress to introduce legislation that makes the Internet service providers our allies in fighting piracy. Piracy is getting worse and worse and the government needs to focus on that.