TORONTO - Total album sales in Canada continued to decline in 2010, while only one genre showed growth: rap music.
According to the Nielsen Company and Billboard's annual report, Canadians bought a total of 31.4 million albums in 2010 (including digital sales) -- down 11 per cent from 2009.
Digital album sales climbed by 25 per cent but physical sales dipped by 16 per cent.
Resurgent rapper Eminem led the way overall, with his Grammy-winning "Recovery" selling 435,000 copies.
Taylor Swift's "Speak Now" occupied the second spot with 215,000 units sold, while Stratford, Ont., teen-pop sensation Justin Bieber finished third and fellow Canucks Johnny Reid and Michael Buble were sixth and ninth respectively.
The Nielsen data also showed that rap music was the fastest-growing genre in Canada, increasing its sales by seven per cent over 2009.
In fact, it was the only genre to show growth. Sales of jazz albums fell by 30 per cent, alternative (the largest genre in overall sales) was down 28 per cent, classical sales dipped 16 per cent and country, metal and R&B sales were down as well.
The most popular digital track of the year in Canada was Taio Cruz's infectious pop smash "Dynamite." While Montreal's Grammy-winning rock outfit Arcade Fire missed the top 10 in overall album sales, the band's acclaimed third album, "The Suburbs," was the third best-selling digital album.
While digital track sales in the U.S. were almost flat compared with 2009, in Canada the numbers increased by 20 per cent, accompanied by a 25 per cent increase in digital album sales (much larger than the 13 per cent bump that occurred in the U.S.).
And though Nickelback hasn't released a new album since 2008's "Dark Horse," the divisive Hanna, Alta., rockers continue to rule Canadian airwaves.
The band topped Billboard's list of the top 10 Canadian artists in terms of airplay, with roughly 150,000 detections for radio and video play. Abbotsford, B.C., pop outfit Hedley was next with 122,000 plays, followed by Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Lady Antebellum.
