US album sales were down 14.4% last year, and this year is off to a poor start, with sales of just 6.49m last week - 14% below same week 2008 sales, and the new lowest tally in the SoundScan (post 1991) era, falling below the previous record low of 6.86m last January.

Country phenomenon Taylor Swift's Fearless remains at number one for the fifth week, though its sales, at just 89,607, are down nearly two thirds on last week. Beyonce ...