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Passenger track sells a million, confirming continue strength of UK singles market

By | Published on Friday 6 December 2013

Passenger

While it was noted last month that there will be no million-selling album in the UK this year, for the first time since the early 1980s according to Music Week, the stats for single track sales continue to look good.

Four singles have now sold over a million copies this year, which is the first time there have been four million-selling singles in a year for fifteen years. Passenger track ‘Let Her Go’ is the latest to pass the million sales mark, according to data from the Official Charts Company and record industry trade body the BPI. Other million selling tracks this year include Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’, Avicii’s ‘Wake Me Up’ and that ever popular rape anthem ‘Blurred Lines’ by Robin Thicke et al.

‘Let Her Go’ is the 141st single to sell more than a million units in the UK since the singles chart began, and only the third million seller from an indie label since 2000. Commenting on that fact, charts chief Martin Talbot told CMU: “Congratulations to Passenger and his label Nettwerk on scoring only the third independent million selling single this millennium. ‘Let Her Go’ is not only one of the singles of the year, it is one of the classics of the digital era – as this achievement underlines”.

Meanwhile on the increasing number of tracks now reaching the million seller landmark, thanks to the iTunes-initiated revival of the singles market, BPI spokesman Gennaro Castaldo added: “The last few years have shown how much the digital revolution has completely revitalised the singles market, and this latest landmark of four one million sellers in one year underlines just how popular the format has become again”.

Elsewhere in chart stats, One Direction are the first group to ever have their first three albums enter the US Billboard Albums Chart at number one in first week of sale. ‘Midnight Memories’ sold a mega 546,000 units in first week of sale Stateside.



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