Bad news from America

[DaBear]

The bad news from America just keeps getting worse: overall album sales last week, at 4,849,000 were the second lowest in the last 20 years, beating by just 0.35% the record low plumbed last September.

Cake?s Showroom Of Compassion debuted at number one on sales of just 44,333. That?s easily the lowest sale for a number one album since SoundScan started counting in 1991, falling 14.79% short of the previous lowest tally of 52,028, set by Taylor Swift?s Speak Now only last week.

To put the current meltdown into even sharper perspective, it is 2,000 copies fewer than Cake?s Pressure Chief sold to debut in 2004...at number 17. On the upside, it is not just the Sacramento veterans? first number one album ? it?s their first Top 10 album in a career that dates back to 1994.

While there are crumbs of comfort for Cake, it?s a spectacularly bad week for British acts. With Susan Boyle?s The Gift slumping 78-160, and Taio Cruz?s Rokstarr dipping 75-125, the only UK survivors in the Top 100 are Mumford & Son, whose Sigh No More eases 8-9 on sales of 26,000, while Florence + The Machine?s Lungs falls 26-30 on sales of 12,000.

Although a dozen albums by UK acts are in the bottom half of the Top 200, led by The Beatles? Abbey Road (130-115), we haven?t had fewer acts in the top half of the chart since the dawning of the new millennium more than 11 years ago.

What good news there is this week comes from the singles sector, with Britney Spears? Hold It Against Me debuting at number one atop the Hot 100, on first week sales of 411,000 ? practically 10 times Cake?s album sales, and the sixth highest one week tally for digital downloads in the format?s history.

Spears? fourth number one single, ninth Top 10 hit and 23rd Hot 100 entry, Hold It Against Me is the 18th song (out of 998 number ones) to debut atop the Hot 100 since its 1958 inception, and the second by Spears, emulating her 2008 single, 3.

Spears? number one debut is another triumph for Swedish songwriter Max Martin, who is right back on his game, having also co-written and produced this week?s second highest debut, Avril Lavigne?s What The Hell (number 13) and fastest mover in the Top 40, Pink?s F***kin? Perfect (57-30).

That?s not all: he also co-wrote and produced Pink?s Raise Your Glass (5-8), Taio Cruz?s Dynamite (11-18), Usher feat. Pitbull?s DJ Got Us Fallin? In Love (18-25) and Katy Perry?s Teenage Dream (26-32), giving him a total of seven concurrent Top 40 hits.