Michael Jackson Shatters Digital Sales Records

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Michael Jackson is likely make more money in death than he ever did in life — the Elvis effect. And it’s already started.

Jackson sold a record 2.6 million digital downloads in just one week, according to preliminary sales numbers from Nielsen SoundScan.

The sales make Jackson the first artist to sell more than one million digital songs in one week. The week before his death, Jackson sold 48,000 songs, illustrating how big a jump this week’s numbers are.

Jackson’s records are dominating the charts. Six of his albums are in the top 10 Top Digital Albums chart, a record, and 25 of his singles are in the top 75 Hot Digital Songs.

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Like Elvis, Jackson is likely to bigger earner in death than he was in life. Elvis earned a whopping $52 million in 2007 — $8 million more than living pop stars like Justin Timberlake ($44 million) and Madonna ($40 million), according to Forbes.com.

About the author

Leander Kahney

is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: Inside Steve’s Brain, the New York Times bestseller about Steve Jobs; Cult of Mac; and Cult of iPod. Leander has written for Wired, MacWeek, Scientific American, and The Guardian in London. Follow Leander on Twitter @lkahney and Facebook.

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Posted in iTunes, Music, News |

  • Michael123

    Michael Jackson has broken Billboard chart records! He has captured 9 of the top 10 spots in the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. Amazing, right? Read the full story at http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/michael-jackson-breaks-billboard-charts-1003989310.story to find out more about the incredible feats Michael has accomplished after his death.

  • carlos

    Just 2 or 3 weeks more and the fever for the death of mj will stop. When an artist died suddenly people get shock, the same happened with court cobain and freddie mercury.

  • http://www.arthritistreatmentlab.com Michael Miller

    oh dear i kind of missed Michael Jackson already:,~

  • http://personalloansforpeoplewithpoorcredit.weebly.com/ Ramon Minhas

    Hey, I tried to email you regarding the article still are unable to reach you. If you please e-mail me if get a minute. Many thanks.