UK Digital Download Sales
According to the recorded music industry trade body, the BPI, digital downloads account for 98 percent of UK single sales. Unsurprisingly, download sales for the song each guest star performed on the X Factor results show increased as, mostly, it coincided with the digital release of that single or album. However, tracks already available before to buy before the show also had large hikes in sales.

Four of the five guest stars who sold the most UK downloads of their song during the week following their appearance are TV talent show discoveries. Leading the way was Cheryl Cole, from Popstars: The Rivals winners Girls Aloud, who sold over 221,000 copies of her single “Fight For This Love” in the week after her performance. Cole was followed by 2008 X Factor finalists, Alexandra Burke (145,320) and JLS (86,725). After the Black Eyed Peas (79,706), 2006 X Factor winner Leona Lewis was fifth with 67,404 sales of “Happy” – her first of two 2009 finals performances.

An X Factor performance had a huge effect on tracks already available to buy. Shakira benefited most from appearing on the show, selling 358% more copies of “Did It Again” the week after the show compared to the week before – even though the track was available for purchase 5 weeks earlier. Michael Bublé’s “Cry Me a River” had already been available for a week before his appearance, via the album, but he benefited from a 323% increase in sales the week after the show. Leona Lewis’ performance of “Stop Crying Your Heart Out” – her second performance during the 2009 finals – contributed to a 215% increase in sales even though the track had already been available, via the album, for a month.

Online Buzz
For almost all the 18 guest stars promoting a track on the X Factor, online buzz in the UK increased after their performance. Only George Michael, Rihanna and Bon Jovi saw a decrease in online mentions or “talkability.” The eight most buzzed about stars during the fortnight around their appearance were all female, lead by previous X Factor winners Leona Lewis, around her “Happy” performance, and Alexandra Burke.

Just as the stars discovered by TV talent shows sold most digital download sales, they tended to benefit most in terms of increases in online buzz levels (87 percent average increase) around their X Factor performance than their counterparts who rose to fame through traditional avenues (45 percent). Susan Boyle (139 percent) and JLS (138 percent) benefited most in terms of increased buzz levels during the week commencing the Sunday of their performance, compared to the week before. Alicia Keys (130 percent) and Whitney Houston (114 percent) were the “traditional” artists with the greatest increase in levels of online buzz.
Radio Airplay
Westlife were the only guests for which the show was the debut airing of the song – all the others had their song broadcast on the radio for varying periods of time before their X Factor performance.

The most radio plays the week of a performance correlated almost identically with the most download sales – being dominated by the “TV talent show” guest stars. Cheryl Cole led the way (3,082 plays) followed by Alexandra Burke (2,748) and JLS (2,554). Leona Lewis’ “Happy” was fifth (2,069) but behind Whitney Houston (2,284) not the Black Eyed Peas.

In terms of increased radio airplay, Mariah Carey was, by far, the biggest beneficiary of an X Factor performance with a 297 percent increase in plays of “I Want To Know What Love Is” – despite the song having its first UK radio play 12 weeks earlier. Alicia Keys followed, with a 72 percent increase in plays of “Doesn’t Mean Anything,” its debut airing being seven weeks earlier. Third was Susan Boyle, with “Wild Horses” benefitting from a 71 percent airplay increase, six weeks after debut.

Jean Littolff, Managing Director, Nielsen Music Control, says: “The X Factor results program is a major marketing vehicle for established stars – particularly for those discovered through the TV talent show medium itself. This type tends to have most activity in terms of download sales, online buzz and radio airplays post performance. However, the greatest impact in terms of changing levels of activity pre vs. post performance is for artists who have travelled a more traditional route to fame.”

• For more information, download the full UK press release on the X-Factor.

In a deeper analysis of audio media titled “How U.S. Adults Use Radio and Other Forms of Audio,” Nielsen found that that 90% of consumers listen to some form of audio media per day. The 77% who listen to broadcast radio surpass the 37% who listen to CDs and tapes and the 12% who listen to portable audio devices. Broadcast radio also continues to play a major role to all ages, with almost 80 percent of those aged 18 to 34 listening to broadcast radio in an average day.

“There are a lot of critics out there who want to write off broadcast radio, but this analysis of real-time media consumption shows that it continues to play a very strong role,” said Dr. Michael Link, VP of Methodological Research at The Nielsen Company.

While the recent emergence of portable audio devices like the iPod and other MP3 players was considered a threat to traditional forms of audio, this study’s evidence suggests that the new technology has had a positive effect on radio consumption. In fact, radio was found to have a higher reach (82%) among those who listen to portable audio devices, compared to the average reach for all audio consumers.

“This study proves that radio is still a popular medium for the tech-savvy, MP3-playing 18-34 year old consumer,” said Jeff Haley, President and CEO of the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB). “This groundbreaking observational study of today’s consumer proves that the primary source of new music is the radio.”

The study was conducted by observing the media usage among participants in five DMAs (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Seattle) in the spring and fall of 2008. Many of the broadcast listening trends were consistent with the findings from Nielsen’s 51-market radio ratings released in September

“The results of this study confirm radio’s importance with all socio-economic groups within the United States, as well as with those that consume other audio platforms that had been perceived to be usurping radio’s audio dominance,” said Bob McCurdy, President of Katz Marketing Solutions.

Another key takeaway from the reports is that broadcast radio is the dominant form of audio media at home, work, and in the car.

Other findings highlighted in the report include:

• Audio media exposure has the highest reach among those with higher levels of education and income.
• Approximately 12% of study participants listened to MP3s and iPods for an average of 69 minutes per day, yet eight-in-ten of these individuals also listened to broadcast radio for an average of 97 minutes per day.

Download the full analysis on radio and audio usage.

“The effects of the global financial crisis have certainly caught up with the ad sector in this latest quarter, especially in North America and Europe where virtually all of the territories we reported on recorded negative growth,” said Ben van der Werf, managing director, Global AdView at Nielsen.  “Even China, which usually sees a boost in ad spend during the Chinese New Year, posted subdued growth for the quarter.”

All four major media types – newspapers, magazines, TV and radio – posted drops in ad spending, with print media leading the decline.  Magazines fared the worst (-17.4%) followed by newspapers (-9.1%).   In North America, magazine ad spend was down 22.2 percent, while newspapers were off 15.6 percent.

Not surprisingly, the automotive category recorded the largest loss in ad spend – down 19.9 percent – followed by financial services (-16.7%) and clothing (-15.7%).

Read the full Global Ad Spend press release.

Main media, defined by Nielsen as free to air TV, newspapers and magazines, increased 13 percent in 2008, while all other media (radio, outdoor, pay TV, cinema and other) posted an 8 percent increase for the year.

In 2008, three markets recorded declines in ad spend versus 2007, while another posted no growth:

• Taiwan (-11%)
• South Korea (-8%)
• Thailand (-4%)
• New Zealand (0%)

Meanwhile, five countries showed solid double-digit growth:

• India (29%)
• Indonesia (19%)
• China (17%)
• Malaysia (12%)
• Philippines (11%)

Other key findings from Nielsen’s research:

• A total of US$115.2 billion was spent on advertising in the twelve markets monitored.
• A total of US$108.4 billion was spent on “Main Media” advertising, with television comprising 70 percent of expenditures.
• Television ad spend grew 15 percent. Only three countries recorded declines in TV ad spend, while five countries posted solid double-digit growth in this category.
• Although Americans are being deluged with stories of newspapers closing, cutting back and filing for bankruptcy, the medium recorded 9 percent growth, with declines in four countries.
• Magazine ad spends, while still comparatively small, increased 10 percent, with India leading the way.
• Radio dominated “all other media” with a 47 percent share of spend and a 12 percent increase for the year.

Over the next few days, Nielsen Wire will dig deeper into the numbers for Australia and New Zealand, East Asia, Southeast Asia and India.

Conducted on behalf of the Nielsen-funded Council for Research Excellence, the study ran over the course of a year and used a custom media collector program developed by Ball State.  Researchers gathered a wide range of data usage of any of the four categories of screens: traditional TVs (including DVD/VCR and DVR viewing), computers, mobile devices and “all other screens,” including in-cinema movies, GPS and display screens outside of the home.

Key findings of the study include:

• Consumers aged 45-54 racked up an average of more than 9 1/2 hours of screen time a day.

• The average for all other age groups was similar at roughly 8 1/2 hours.

• Computer video watching took on average just two minutes a day.

• TV still dominates, even among those aged 18-24.

• Radio usage has dropped to third, behind TV and computer usage, but ahead of print media.

• TV viewers were exposed to an average of 72 minutes of TV ads and promos every day, dispelling the conventional wisdom that people are channel-hopping or otherwise avoiding ads.

Read the full press release.

The Lexington study found that cell-phone-only homes logged nearly 23 hours of radio listening per week compared to just over 19 hours for the total sample.

In addition, the sample group:

• Listens to 3.5 radio stations compared to less than 3 stations among the total sample
• Has an average quarter hour total radio rating of 17.3% versus 14.3 rating for the total sample
• Skews younger, primarily between the ages of 18 and 34.

“This study underscores the value of radio in reaching a local audience, particularly those increasingly elusive, mobile young adults,” said Lorraine Hadfield, Nielsen’s Managing Director for Global Radio Audience Measurement.

“The fact that more than 20% of radio listeners in the test market are cell-phone-only households underscores the value that Nielsen brings to us and every other radio broadcaster right out of the gate,” said John Hogan, Clear Channel Radio President and CEO. “Now we can get to the business of discussing radio’s true value with advertisers.”

Read the full press release.

Nielsen has issued a year-end look at the most popular trends among Americans during 2008, covering everything from the top TV programs to the most popular consumer packaged goods.

William P. Young’s ”The Shack” was the top-selling fiction book through November 30.

Among non-fiction books, “A New Earth,” by Eckhart Tolle was the top-seller.

The audio version of Tolle’s “A New Earth” was the top-selling audio book of the year.

Top 10 Book Sales: Adult Fiction

Top 10 Book Sales: Adult Non-Fiction

Top 10 Audio Book Sales: Adult and Juvenile

View the press release.

Relive the greatest hits of 2008 — stay tuned on Nielsen Wire for more Tops In 2008 coverage.

Look ahead to the new year with Nielsen Wire’s 2009 Industry Outlook series.

It’s official: Americans love their carbs.  The Bread and Baked Goods category ranked number one for 2008 — both in terms of consumer purchases and retail sales.  According to Nielsen, 99% of U.S. homes purchased bread/baked goods at least once during the 52 weeks ending June 28, 2008.  The Bread/Baked Goods category raked in $18.3 billion in sales through November 1.  Other popular CPG categories include paper products, snacks, and carbonated beverages.

Scarborough Research, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron, also reported on the top U.S.  markets for online shopping.  Washington, D.C. and San Francisco ranked first and second, respectively, with 39% and 35% of adults spending $500 or more online in the past year.  Nationwide, 25% of adults reported spending $500 or more online in the past year.

Top 10 Consumer Packaged Goods Purchased by U.S. Homes

Top 10 Consumer Packaged Goods Sold in U.S. Retail Stores

Top U.S. Markets For Adults Who Spent More Than $500+ Online Last Year

View the press release.

Relive the greatest hits of 2008 — stay tuned on Nielsen Wire for more Tops In 2008 coverage.

Look ahead to the new year with Nielsen Wire’s 2009 Industry Outlook series.

Sony’s Playstation 2 was the top game console of 2008, claiming 31.7% of all measured console minutes, according to Nielsen.  The Xbox 360 and Wii ranked second and third, respectively, with 17.2% and 13.4% of all usage minutes between January and October of this year.

Blizzard Entertainment’s “World of Warcraft” was the most popular PC game title of the year, drawing an average of 0.723% of all PC gamers per minute between January and October 2008.

Among mobile gamers, “Tetris” was the top game for Q3 2008, in terms of share of revenue. 

Top 10 PC Game Titles: U.S.

Top 10 Mobile Games By Revenue Share: U.S. – Q3 2008

Top Video Game Consoles By Usage

View the press release.

Read coverage of Nielsen’s findings in Forbes.

Relive the greatest hits of 2008 — stay tuned on Nielsen Wire for more Tops In 2008 coverage.

Look ahead to the new year with Nielsen Wire’s 2009 Industry Outlook series.

Google was the most popular website with U.S. Internet users, drawing the largest audience (120 million unique visitors per month, on average) through October 2008.

As of 2008, the most prolific content downloaders in the U.S. live in California, according to Scarborough Research, a joint partnership with Nielsen and Arbitron. The San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose market had the highest percentage (32%) of adults who had downloaded podcasts, video games, music/other audio clips, movies, videos, or TV programs in the past month.  The San Diego and Austin, Texas markets tied for a close second place (31%).  Nationwide, 24% of adults have downloaded online content in the past month.

Top 10 Websites: U.S.

Top U.S. Markets For Content Downloaders

View the press release.

Relive the greatest hits of 2008 — stay tuned on Nielsen Wire for more Tops In 2008 coverage.

Look ahead to the new year with Nielsen Wire’s 2009 Industry Outlook series.