The first year is 1903, which lists only one million-seller, Enrico Caruso's “Vest la Giubba” from the opera Pagliacci by Ruggiero Leoncavallo. “It is fitting that Caruso, the world's greatest operatic tenor, should be the first artist to achieve a million sales.”
The first record to sell over a million copies was 'Vesti la giubba' from Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, sung by the Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso (1873–1921).
His 1924 Victor recording of “The Wreck of the Old 97” coupled with “The Prisoner's Song” became country music's first million-selling record and redirected the course of his career.
The first title to sell one million ever (in a 12-month period) of sheet music is "After the Ball" on 1892 or 1893. However, according to other reports "Funiculì, Funiculà" achieved sales of one million copies in 1880 alone. From 1900 to 1910, over one hundred songs sold more than a million copies.
The first CD to sell a million copies world-wide was Dire Straits' Brother in Arms in 1986. It subsequently topped a million sales in Europe alone, including over 250,000 in Britain.
The Platinum Album and Single Awards are introduced signifying one million copies sold. The Eagles' "Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975" (Elektra) becomes the RIAA's first Platinum Album, while nearly 50 more albums achieve the prestigious status that year. Did You Know?
Only 22 albums in history have sold 1 million copies in a single week — here they all are. Nielsen Music started tracking point-of-sales data for US music releases in 1991. In the 30+ years since, only 22 albums have sold at least 1 million copies in one week.
Albums that sold a million copies in their first week
' Billboard reports just 20 albums have ever sold more than a million in their debut week in the U.S., ranging from Limp Bizkit and Garth Brooks to Britney Spears and Taylor Swift.
According to Guinness, "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies. The single is known as the "best-selling single of all time". It was released before music charts were created.
The first year is 1903, which lists only one million-seller, Enrico Caruso's “Vest la Giubba” from the opera Pagliacci by Ruggiero Leoncavallo. “It is fitting that Caruso, the world's greatest operatic tenor, should be the first artist to achieve a million sales.”
Bing Crosby was the best selling pop artist of the 1940s. Ragtime, a genre that first became popular in the 1890s, was popular through about the 1940s.
It is no surprise that the Beatles were the commercially most successful act in the 1960s. The Fab Four had eighteen different number one hits from 1964 to 1969 and topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 55 weeks (of 518 weeks) in the 1960s.
It is estimated that more than one billion Elvis records have been sold worldwide, more than anyone in record industry history.
Speaking to OfficialCharts.com, Queen guitarist Brian May says: “We're here to bring you the joyous news that Queen's Greatest Hits album has sold 7 million copies, which nobody has ever done before. No album has done this before in history.
According to Guinness World Records, Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" (1942) as performed by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies.
The Beatles, unsurprisingly, lead the way with a record 20 No. 1s, all earned between 1964 and 1970.
Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and Phil Collins are the only musicians to have sold over 100 million albums as a solo artist and member of a group.
Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road" Is the Fastest-Selling Diamond Record of All Time.
In what is likely a historic transaction, rock legend and one of New Jersey's favorite sons Bruce Springsteen has reportedly sold his entire music catalog for around $500 million. According to Billboard, Springsteen, 72, sold all of his masters to Sony Music Entertainment.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, British rock band The Beatles are top of the list for best-selling artists worldwide, with 183 million units certified sales.
Thriller – Michael Jackson – Best Selling Albums Of All Time. Finally, the King of Pop has held on to the top spot posthumously since 2009, selling over 66 million copies worldwide! As well as the title, track, the album was packed with best-selling singles from 'Billie Jean', to 'P.Y. T', to 'Beat It'.
Since Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan) began tracking sales in 1991, no US album has moved as much vinyl in a week as the 575,000 copies racked up by singer/songwriter Taylor Swift's (USA) 12th studio album Midnights.