Beyonce Breaks iTunes Records with Album Release
Published at | Updated at
Larry Busacca/PW/WireImage for Parkwood Entertainment(CUPERTINO, Calif.) — Beyonce’s self-titled album, released last week, has become the fastest selling album ever on iTunes, Apple announced Monday.
In just three days it has been downloaded 828,773 times from the digital music store. It also broke the U.S. first week album sales record — previously held by Taylor Swift — with 617,213 sold.
Of course, the fact that the album was available exclusively through iTunes and not via any other digital music service helped push along the sales. Additionally, fans couldn’t buy single songs for the usual 99 cent price; instead they were forced to buy the whole album for $15.99.
The album, however, included more than just 14 songs. It also came with 17 videos. You could watch only 30-second snippets of each video clip on YouTube. Called Beyoncé’s first visual album, it also included tracks from her husband Jay-Z, R&B singer Frank Ocean and rapper Drake. Another big draw? The closing track, “Blue,” features her daughter Blue Ivy in the video.
Going into the holiday season, the sales of Beyonce on iTunes should rise, but Apple’s exclusive deal with the Grammy-winning singer will end soon. A double disc CD/DVD will be available at retail stores in time for the holidays, her record label said.
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio