Labels hold online tunes for CD sales

Record label Island Def Jam recently decided not to sell "So Sick" by R&B artist Ne-Yo as an individual song before the album hit stores last week, in an effort to increase album sales. Label executives feared that releasing the track too early--many such launches have included an exclusive song on iTunes--would cut into sales of the full CD, according to a report from The New York Times. The CD "In My Own Words" topped the national album chart yesterday at no. 1, pulling in sales of more than 301,000 copies and ranking as the largest debut of the year thus far. Despite holding back, the digital single of "So Sick" sold nearly 120,000 copies in its first week alongside shrink-wrapped copies in stores. Island Def Jam, however, offered retailers who stocked the album a discount, allowing the album to sell for $8. Should the industry decide that restricting digital sales turns out increased album sales, the labels may begin throttling digital downloads in the future to ramp up physical sales.

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