When asked to write about a single artist that shaped the month of November, at first I was stumped. So many mainstream artists have been having huge months, especially in 2015. My first instinct for this subject was the artist The Weeknd. He’s had a huge breakout year, with 5 top 50 billboard songs (so far), and multiple T.V. show appearances, his career has truly been taken to the next level. Despite his unbelievable success, I tried looking at the big picture. How music changing? Who has been the biggest factor in this change? The answer became very clear to me. Adele.
Talent-wise Adele is a powerhouse. Not only does she have an incredible voice in the studio, but she can reciprocate it live. On November 20th, she released her newest album 25.
has done remarkably in album sales. Adele sold 800,000 copies in its first week and became the fastest selling album in the UK of all time. Of that total, 250,00 copies were digital downloads which doubled the previous record held by Ed Sheeran. In the United States became the fastest selling album in the 21st century. The album sold more copies in the U.S. in its debut week than the previous number one albums had sold in the previous 22 weeks combined! Just to reiterate everything you just read.....In the digital climax of music, Adele has shattered physical album sale records and created several new digital download records. This is an absolutely incredible accomplishment! The single “Hello” alone was the number one single in 43 countries world wide. 25 25
In 2015, if an artist is setting records for physical copies, this is a powerful statement. As music revenue stands right now 46% are physical, 46% are digital, and the amount of digital music streaming has increased to 5 times the level from 2010.
As the music industry is clearly changing, there are artists who will preserve and stay strong as the pioneers on the forefront of this movement. I believe Adele is a great representation of this. It speaks volumes that her music is powerful enough to transcend statistics and break free of popular musical trends. Like her music or not, as a music enthusiast you must respect what Adele has accomplished with her newest album 25.
