US Album Sales Down Nearly 18% in May

(From BillBoard.biz) ALBUM SALES DOWN NEARLY 18% IN MAY

 

Album sales in May dropped 17.8% versus May 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and were 36.7% lower than May 2007. (For these purposes, the month of May 2009 was from Monday, May 4 to Sunday, May 30.) For the year through May 31, album sales are down 13.4% versus the same period in 2008 and are down 30.4% against the same period in 2007. Track Equivalent Albums (TEAs) were 13.1% lower in May 2009 versus May 2008. That was a reversal from the relatively successful month of April in which TEAs were down only 4.6%. Year to date, TEAs are down almost 7.6% versus last year. 

The flattening of digital track sales growth compounds problems that arise from falling album sales. Year-over-year track sales were up only 5%, 6%, 2% and 5% in the four weeks that comprised the month of May. For an indication of where sales are trending over the next year, look at the early adopting Pacific region of the country (as defined by SoundScan). Track sales in the Pacific are up 8% in 2009, the lowest growth rate of the eight regions. On the other coast, both the Northeast and Middle Atlantic regions are up 12%. At this time last year, the early adopters of the Pacific region had brought a 25% increase in tracks sales while the Northeast and Middle Atlantic regions were up 26% and 29%, respectively. The TEAs metric coverts digital track sales to album sales (by dividing track sales by ten) and allows for easy comparisons over periods of time. This is possible because ten digital songs have the same retail and wholesale amounts as digital albums. When looking at changes in purchase trends – as consumers buy more individual tracks and fewer albums – looking at TEAs allows for easy comparison of changes in overall recorded music spending (excluding ringtones). 

—Glenn Peoples, Nashville 

Mother Teresa Quotes

I was at a concert last night and I reminded of a great quote by Mother Teresa.  "We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

After that, I started looking up some more quotes from her (thanks to BrainyQuote.com) Here are some of my favorites:

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.

I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.

Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world.

      

Wisdom From Above

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

James 3:17

Sometimes we question if we can discern what is of God and what isn't. If you question whether or not something originates from the wisdom and heart of God, measure it by the descriptors in this passage - pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, good fruits and sincere. Pretty straight-forward.

This is from The Daily Verse. 

INTEGRITY MUSIC LATIN AND CANZION GROUP ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE

MOBILE, Alabama (May 19, 2009) Integrity Music Latin and CanZion Group announced today that they have entered into an agreement to jointly serve the Christian retail market through the newly named CanZion-Integrity Distribution (CID). 

The new CID entity will begin distributing Spanish and Portuguese language products to Christian retailers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico beginning July 1 while maintaining separate operations for all other markets. 

This ground-breaking alliance between two of the worlds leading producers of Latin worship music will combine sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution and publishing efforts for all current and future CDs, DVDs and digital products. 

Together, the new CID artist roster includes: Latin Grammy winner Marcos Witt; Latin Billboard winner Danilo Montero; Latin Grammy nominated and Premios Arpa winner Alex Campos; Latin Grammy and Dove Award winner Aline Barros; Latin Grammy and Latin Billboard winner Juan Luis Guerra; Dove and Arpa winner Funky; Premios Arpa winner Julissa Rivera and Dove Nominee and Latin Grammy nominee Daniel Calveti among others. 

"We are delighted to partner with CanZion Music which has such a significant ministry impact throughout the Latin world, said Michael Coleman, CEO and co-founder of Integrity Media, parent company of the Integrity Music Latin label. This new partnership will strengthen the outreach of both of our companies in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and it is an important step for Integrity as we seek to further our mission of helping people worldwide experience the manifest presence of God." 

Marcos Witt, Founder and CEO of CanZion adds: We at CanZion Group are extremely excited at joining efforts with the great family at Integrity Media to impact the kingdom for God's glory. At CanZion we share many of the same values that Integrity embraces, especially when it has to do with people experiencing the manifest presence of God through music. We believe that by working together we'll be able to do an even better job of spreading the glorious news of the Gospel to the Spanish language world. We also have the conviction that our union will be a model of unity that will glorify God. 

CanZion-Integrity Distribution will be headquartered in Mobile, Alabama with Canzion operating their label group from Houston, Texas under the direction of Arturo Allen. All sales, distribution and accounting of CID will be handled from Integrity Medias offices in Mobile, Alabama. Elias Yepez, formerly of Zondervan, Vida, and currently the Director of Sales and Marketing for Integrity Music Latin, will be the new Director of CanZion-Integrity Distribution. 

Get in the Game

Trained for War

TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2 by Os Hillman

Tuesday, May 19 2009

"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers 

for battle" (Psalm 144:1)

You'll never experience God in powerful ways by acquiring Bible knowledge

alone. It is only when that knowledge is used in the heat of battle that

you will know the reality of what you've learned intellectually. Otherwise,

it remains only an exercise in spiritual gymnastics that yields little

fruit.

David became a great warrior and leader of a nation at an early age. His

training ground was his job as a shepherd in the open fields. When bears

and lions sought to take his sheep, he personally fought them. This was 

his early preparation for future battles. Goliath was the real competition

amongst a discerning audience to reveal how well his training prepared 

him.

Today, our local churches often look more like luxury cruise liners

designed to tickle the ears, entertain its members and make them feel good

instead of a battleship designed to train an army for war. The average

member still watches from the sideline.

In sports you discover how well you handle pressure by competing. You can

practice all you want but never know how you will do until you enter the

game and test what you've learned and practiced when there is pressure

added to the equation. In battle you discover how well you are trained by

what you actually do on the battlefield.

Have you ever prayed with someone in public? Have you ever personally led

someone to Christ? Have you ever served others for the sake of the Gospel?

Have you ever taught a Bible study? If you said no to these questions, you

are not engaged in the game. Today, why not ask God to give you the grace

to step onto the battlefield.

Hour of Power Germany

For those of you interested, Deborah Rosenkranz (Former German singing Flight Attendant) is interviewed on the German version of Hour of Power.  

Dutch BCB plans Festival and Bookstore Day

Dutch association BCB plans Book & Music Festival, Christian Bookstore Day. BCB—the primary association of Dutch Christian retailers and suppliers, which represents the Netherlands in ChristianTrade Association International—is planning a new consumer Christian Book & Music Festival and a Christian Bookstore Day. BCB is changing the focus of its annual fall consumers’ fair to be more experiential. Current plans are for several large, themed areas, each running continuous programming. Depending on logistics, the revamped event will be held later this year or in 2010. For Christian Bookstore Day, BCB plans to coordinate and generate nationwide publicity and develop in-store materials. Each local store would organize its own activities and local publicity, highlighting its own identity. Publishers can participate with discounts, giveaways, and other promotions to attract buyers. The first Christian Bookstore Day is planned for early 2010.