Topic: Record Sales

Warner Music Group's "360 deal" structure allows record labels to take a percentage of an artist's touring, merchandising, and digital sales. Most artists receive only about 1% of retail sales after the label deducts expenses for promotion, travel, and personal luxuries from their initial advances.

The Financial Times reports that 123 million physical albums were sold in the United Kingdom over the past year, reflecting a slight decline from 2007. The criteria for achieving gold or platinum status has shifted globally, and the traditional practice of awarding mother masters as gold records has largely been replaced by commemorative CD frames.