The whole record industry, of course, is ailing, but jazz has a special place in the infirmary. In 2011, jazz recordings made up a hair over 3 percent of albums sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan — and that’s counting watered-down forms like “smooth jazz.” The year before, the numbers were significantly worse. In fact, jazz record sales are so low that a pro forma Christmas record by Michael Buble — who sings over a wash of elevator music and is only a jazz artist by generous definition — made up almost a quarter of the total jazz sales in 2011, creating the illusion that the music had experienced a huge growth spurt. (The 11.1 million jazz albums that sold last year mean that, all things being equal, for every person who bought just one jazz record, 27 did not. Similarly, for everyone who bought two jazz records, 54 people purchased nothing.)
Full article by SCOTT TIMBERG/Salon.com
