The Australian Recording Industry Assn.’s end of year albums chart shows domestic acts claimed a record 30 of the top 100 positions. Furthermore, the top selling album, single and music DVD of 2005 were by Australian artists.
Singer-songwriter Missy Higgins’ “The Sound Of White” debut album (Eleven/EMI) has achieved eight-times platinum certification (for sales of 560,000 units) and has spent most of its 68 week run in the national sales chart in the Top 10.
“Australian Idol” 2004 runner-up Anthony Callea’s “The Prayer” was the best-selling single of the year with 300,000 units, according to his record company Sony BMG Music Entertainment.
Veteran hard rock band AC/DC topped the DVD sales chart with “Family Jewels” (Alberts/FMR/Warner), while “Live At Donnington” was at No. 36.
Altogether, 39 Aussie acts held 66 spots in the top 100 albums, top 100 singles and top 40 DVD charts through 2005. Eleven were on independent labels or distributors, and 15 were listed as debut acts.
In the first half of 2005, sales of singles, albums and music DVDs fell by 7.54% on the previous year, to 22.7 million units, according to ARIA. The full-year figures will be released in the new year.
