According to the Wall Street Journal, CD sales for the first three months of this year plunged to all time lows, down a whopping 20% from a year ago. The drop in CD sales was larger than the growth in digital downloads. The Wall Street Journal article also points out the fact that the chart-topping artists are only selling a fraction of what they used to. Chris Anderson argues that this is the decade that the blockbuster died. What does this mean? Simply put, it means the record industry is losing money in a big way.

If you are a big music executive then this is definitely bad news for you. On the other hand, if you are an independent music fan, then this may not be the worst thing. One thing that is clear is that it is now easier for independent musicians to rise to the top of the charts. If you are rooting for the independent musicians, then check out bum rush the charts. As I mentioned two weeks ago, the goal of “Bum Rush the Charts” is to get an independent artist to the top of Itunes. The track chosen to be purchased today is “Mine Again” by the band Black Lab. Now, I’m not sure as to the quality of the music, but it will be pretty cool to see this take place. Best of all, the revenue will be donated to a college scholarship fund. If you want to help out then go buy the song now for only 99 cents!