List of best-selling singles worldwide

The List of best-selling singles worldwide includes songs that have sold more than five million copies as a single, as published by reliable sources.

According to Guinness World Records, the holiday perennial "White Christmas" (1942) by Bing Crosby is the best-selling single worldwide, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies. The song recognized as "the best-selling single of all time" was released before the pop/rock singles-chart era and "was listed as the world's best-selling single in the first-ever Guinness Book of Records (published in 1955) and— remarkably — still retains the title more than 50 years later." Guinness World Records states that double A-side charity single "Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight" (1997) by Elton John, a tribute to the late Diana, Princess of Wales, is "the biggest-selling single since UK and US singles charts began in the 1950s, having accumulated worldwide sales of 33 million copies," making it the second best-selling single of all time.

Best-selling singles

Artist	Single	Released	Genre	Sales (in millions)
1910 Fruitgum Company	"Simon Says"	1968	Pop	5
ABBA	"Fernando"	1976	Pop	10
ABBA	"Waterloo"	1974	Pop	5
Adele	"Rolling in the Deep"	2011	Soul	7
Alicia Keys	"No One"	2007	R&B, Soul	5.6
Andrea Bocelli	"Con te partirò"	1997	Pop	7
The Animals	"The House of the Rising Sun"	1964	Rock	5
The Archies	"Sugar, Sugar"	1969	Pop	6
Avril Lavigne	"Girlfriend"	2007	Pop punk	7.3
Baccara	"Yes Sir, I Can Boogie"	1977	Pop	18
The Beatles	"Can't Buy Me Love"	1964	Rock	7
The Beatles	"Hey Jude"	1968	Rock	8
The Beatles	"She Loves You"	1963	Rock	5
The Beatles	"I Want to Hold Your Hand"	1964	Rock	12
Bee Gees	"Massachusetts"	1967	Pop	5
Beyoncé	"Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"	2008	R&B	5.9
Biddu and Carl Douglas	"Kung Fu Fighting"	1974	Disco	11
Bill Haley & His Comets	"Rock Around the Clock"	1954	Rock & Roll	25
Bing Crosby	"White Christmas"	1942	Christmas	50
Bing Crosby	"Silent Night"	1935	Christmas	30
The Black Eyed Peas	"Boom Boom Pow"	2009	Hip hop	8.5
The Black Eyed Peas	"I Gotta Feeling"	2009	Dance	13.2
Britney Spears	"...Baby One More Time"	1998	Pop	9
Britney Spears	"Toxic"	2004	Pop	6.5
Britney Spears	"Womanizer"	2008	Electropop	6.5
Britney Spears	"Circus"	2008	Pop	5.5
Brotherhood of Man	"Save Your Kisses for Me"	1976	Pop	6
Bryan Adams	"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You"	1991	Rock	10
Cee Lo Green	"Fuck You"	2010	Pop	5
Celine Dion	"My Heart Will Go On"	1998	Pop	15
Cher	"Believe"	1998	Pop, Dance	10
The Chipmunks	"The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)"	1958	Children, Pop	5.5
Danyel Gérard	"Butterfly"	1971	Pop	7
Dawn	"Knock Three Times"	1971	Pop	6.5
Dawn featuring Tony Orlando	"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree"	1973	Pop	6
Donny Osmond	"Puppy Love"	1971	Pop	5
Elton John	"Candle in the Wind 1997"/"Something About the Way You Look Tonight"	1997	Pop	33
Elvis Presley	"Hound Dog"	1956	Rock & Roll	9
Elvis Presley	"Surrender"	1961	Rock	5
Eminem featuring Rihanna	"Love the Way You Lie"	2010	Hip hop	9.3
Engelbert Humperdinck	"Release Me"	1967	Pop	5
Enrique Iglesias	"Hero"	2001	Pop	8
Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull	"I Like It"	2010	Electropop	5
Flo Rida	"Low"	2007	Hip hop	8
Gene Austin	"My Blue Heaven"	1927	Pop	5
Gene Autry	"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"	1949	Pop	18
Gene Autry	"That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine"	1939	Pop	5
George McCrae	"Rock Your Baby"	1974	Disco	11
George Michael	"Careless Whisper"	1984	Pop	6
Georgie Fame	"The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde"	1968	Pop	7.5
Harry Simeone Chorale	"The Little Drummer Boy"	1958	Pop	6
The Ink Spots	"If I Didn't Care"	1939	Doo-wop	19
The Jackson 5	"I Want You Back"	1969	R&B	6
The Jackson 5	"I'll Be There"	1970	Pop	6
Janet Jackson	"Together Again"	1997	Pop	6
Jason Mraz	"I'm Yours"	2008	Pop, Folk rock	8.1
Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne	"Down"	2009	R&B, Dance	6
Jeannie C. Riley	"Harper Valley PTA"	1968	Pop, Country	5.5
Julie Rogers	"The Wedding"	1964	Pop	7
Kanye West	"Heartless"	2008	Pop	5.5
Katy Perry	"I Kissed a Girl"	2008	Pop	8.4
Katy Perry	"Hot n Cold"	2008	Pop	5
Katy Perry	"California Gurls"	2010	Pop	6.7
Katy Perry	" Firework"	2010	Pop	5
Kenny Rogers	"Lady"	1980	Country	16
Kesha	"TiK ToK"	2009	Electropop	12.8
Kyu Sakamoto	"Sukiyaki"	1961	Pop	13
Lady Antebellum	"Need You Now"	2009	Country pop	5
Lady Gaga	"Poker Face"	2009	Dance-pop, Electropop	9.8
Lady Gaga	"Bad Romance"	2009	Dance-pop, Electropop	9.7
Lady Gaga featuring Colby O'Donis	"Just Dance"	2009	Dance-pop, Electropop	7.7
Lady Gaga featuring Beyoncé	"Telephone"	2010	Dance-pop, Electropop	7.4
Leona Lewis	"Bleeding Love"	2008	Pop	7.7
Lil Wayne	"Lollipop"	2008	Rap	9.1
Madonna	"Like a Prayer"	1989	Gospel, Pop rock	5
Madonna	"Vogue"	1990	Dance-pop, House, Disco	6
Mahalia Jackson	"Move On Up a Little Higher"	1948	Gospel	8
Mary Hopkin	"Those Were the Days"	1968	Pop	8
Middle of the Road	"Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep"	1971	Pop	10
Mills Brothers	"Paper Doll"	1943	Country	11
Mitch Miller	"March from Bridge On The River Kwai"	1957	March	5
Modern Talking	"You're My Heart, You're My Soul"	1984	Synthpop	8
The Monkees	"I'm a Believer"	1966	Pop	10
The Monkees	"Daydream Believer"	1967	Pop rock	5
Mungo Jerry	"In the Summertime"	1970	Pop	6
Neil Diamond	"Cracklin' Rosie"	1970	Pop	6
The New Seekers	"I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing"	1971	Pop/Folk	6
Nini Rosso	"Il Silenzio"	1965	Pop	5
Nirvana	"Smells Like Teen Spirit"	1991	Grunge	8
The Partridge Family	"I Think I Love You"	1970	Pop	5
Paul Anka	"Diana"	1957	Pop	20
Procol Harum	"A Whiter Shade of Pale"	1967	Progressive Rock	10
Rihanna featuring Jay-Z	"Umbrella"	2007	R&B	6.6
Roger Whittaker	"The Last Farewell"	1975	Pop	11
Roy Acuff	"Wabash Cannonball"	1942	Country	10
Scorpions	"Wind of Change"	1991	Hard Rock	14
Scott McKenzie	"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)"	1967	Pop	7
Shakira	"Whenever, Wherever"	2001	Latin Pop	8.5
Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean	"Hips Don't Lie"	2006	Latin Pop	10
Shocking Blue	"Venus"	1969	Pop	8
Shop Boyz	"Party Like a Rock Star"	2007	Pop	5.2
Simon & Garfunkel	"Bridge Over Troubled Water"	1970	Pop	6
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em	"Crank That (Soulja Boy)"	2007	Southern rap	5.2
Soulja Boy Tell 'Em	"Kiss Me Thru the Phone"	2007	Southern rap	5.7
Spice Girls	"Wannabe"	1996	Pop	6
Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler	"Ballad of the Green Berets"	1966	Pop	5
T-Pain	"Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')"	2007	Snap & B	5.9
T.I.	"Whatever You Like"	2008	Hip Hop, Pop	5.6
Taio Cruz	"Dynamite"	2010	R&B	5.6
Taylor Swift	"Love Story"	2008	Country, Pop	6.5
Terry Jacks	"Seasons in the Sun"	1974	Pop	11.5
Thelma Aoyama	"Soba ni Iru ne"	2008	Pop	8.2
Three Dog Night	"Joy to the World"	1971	Rock	5
Timbaland featuring OneRepublic	"Apologize"	2008	Pop	6.2
Tino Rossi	"Petit Papa Noël"	1946	Christmas	5.7
Tom Jones	"Delilah"	1968	Pop	5
The Tornados	"Telstar"	1962	Pop	5
Train	"Hey, Soul Sister"	2009	Pop	6.6
USA for Africa	"We Are the World"	1985	Pop	20
Usher featuring will.i.am	"OMG"	2010	R&B, Soul	6.9
Utada Hikaru	"Flavor of Life"	2007	Pop	8
Vernon Dalhart	"The Prisoner's Song"	1924	Country	7
Village People	"Y.M.C.A."	1978	Pop, Disco	12
Whitney Houston	"I Will Always Love You"	1992	R&B	12
Wings	"Mull of Kintyre"	1977	Rock	6

Legend

Colors
	Studio Albums
	Greatest Hits & Compilations
	Soundtracks

Groupings are based on different sales benchmarks, the highest being for claims of at least 40 million copies, and the lowest being for claims of 20–29 million copies. Albums are listed in order of number of copies sold and thereafter by the artist's first name.

40 million copies or more

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)
Michael Jackson	Thriller	1982	Pop / Rock / R&B	110
AC/DC	Back in Black	1980	Hard rock / Heavy metal	49
Pink Floyd	The Dark Side of the Moon	1973	Progressive rock	45
Whitney Houston / Various artists	The Bodyguard	1992	Soundtrack	44
Meat Loaf	Bat Out of Hell	1977	Rock	43
Eagles	Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)	1976	Rock	42
Various artists	Dirty Dancing	1987	Soundtrack	42
Backstreet Boys	Millennium	1999	Pop	40
Bee Gees / Various artists	Saturday Night Fever	1977	Soundtrack	40
Fleetwood Mac	Rumours	1977	Rock	40
Shania Twain	Come On Over	1997	Country / Pop	40

30–39 million copies

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)
Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin IV	1971	Hard rock / Heavy metal	37
Alanis Morissette	Jagged Little Pill	1995	Rock	33
The Beatles	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	1967	Rock	32
Celine Dion	Falling into You	1996	Pop	32
Mariah Carey	Music Box	1993	Pop / R&B	32
Michael Jackson	Dangerous	1991	Pop / Rock	32
The Beatles	1	2000	Rock	31
Celine Dion	Let's Talk About Love	1997	Pop	31
Bee Gees	Spirits Having Flown	1979	Disco / Pop	30
Bruce Springsteen	Born in the U.S.A.	1984	Rock	30
Dire Straits	Brothers in Arms	1985	Rock	30
James Horner	Titanic	1997	Soundtrack	30
Madonna	The Immaculate Collection	1990	Pop / Dance	30
Michael Jackson	Bad	1987	Pop / Rock	30
Pink Floyd	The Wall	1979	Progressive rock	30
Nirvana	Nevermind	1991	Grunge / Alternative rock	30

20–29 million copies

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)
ABBA	ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits	1992	Pop	28
Backstreet Boys	Backstreet's Back	1997	Pop	28
Bon Jovi	Slippery When Wet	1986	Hard rock	28
Guns N' Roses	Appetite for Destruction	1987	Hard rock / Heavy metal	28
Various artists	Grease	1978	Soundtrack	28
Santana	Supernatural	1999	Rock	27
Britney Spears	...Baby One More Time	1999	Pop	26
Carole King	Tapestry	1971	Pop	25
Iron Butterfly	In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida	1968	Psychedelic rock	25
Mariah Carey	Daydream	1995	Pop / R&B	25
Queen	Greatest Hits	1981	Rock	25
Simon & Garfunkel	Bridge over Troubled Water	1970	Folk Rock	25
U2	The Joshua Tree	1987	Rock	25
Whitney Houston	Whitney Houston	1985	Pop / R&B	25
Backstreet Boys	Black & Blue	2000	Pop	24
Linkin Park	Hybrid Theory	2000	Nu metal / Rap metal / Alternative rock	24
Madonna	True Blue	1986	Pop	24
Ace of Base	Happy Nation/The Sign	1993	Pop	23
Spice Girls	Spice	1996	Pop	23
Metallica	Metallica	1991	Heavy metal	22
Oasis	(What's the Story) Morning Glory?	1995	Britpop / Rock	22
Dido	No Angel	1999	Pop	21
Madonna	Like a Virgin	1984	Pop / Dance	21
Billy Ray Cyrus	Some Gave All	1992	Country	20
Bob Marley & The Wailers	Legend: The Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers	1984	Reggae	20
Blondie	Parallel Lines	1978	Rock	20
Bon Jovi	Cross Road	1994	Rock	20
Britney Spears	Oops!... I Did It Again	2000	Pop	20
Céline Dion	The Colour of My Love	1993	Pop	20
Cher	Believe	1999	Pop	20
Def Leppard	Hysteria	1987	Hard rock	20
Janet Jackson	janet.	1993	Pop / R&B	20
Madonna	Ray of Light	1998	Pop / Electronic	20
Michael Jackson	HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I	1995	Pop / Rock / R&B	20
Michael Jackson	Off the Wall	1979	Soul / Disco / R&B	20
Norah Jones	Come Away with Me	2002	Jazz	20
Prince & The Revolution	Purple Rain	1984	Soundtrack	20
Spice Girls	Spiceworld	1997	Pop	20
Tina Turner	Private Dancer	1984	Rock	20
Usher	Confessions	2004	R&B	20

List of best-selling albums

This is a list of the world's best-selling albums. The criteria are that the figure must have been published by a reliable source and the album must have sold at least 20 million copies worldwide. Most albums have conflicting estimates of sales figures. In this list the highest sales figure reported for an album is added to the list. This list can contain any type of album, including studio, greatest hits, compilation, various artists, soundtrack and remix.

A number of issues make exact figures difficult to calculate, as historical data before the 1980s and from developing countries is incomplete. Additionally, fans, record companies and the media are prone to exaggerating sales figures to boost the image of the relevant act. The figures given do not take into account the resale of used albums. The list takes no account of any kind of copyright infringing activity such as home taping or the emergence of illegal downloading of digital music in the 2000s or of pirate sales of copied discs.
Michael Jackson's Thriller tops the list, estimated to have sold 110 million copies worldwide.

List of best-selling music artists in the United States

This is the list of the top 100 best-selling music artists in the United States only based on certifications of albums by the RIAA. (The list may contain more than 100, when the final slot is a tie.)
The RIAA does not deal in sales of albums, only certifications of shipped units. Therefore this best-selling list is based on total accumulated certifications given per artist and may not reflect the true physical sales obtained by these artists.

The RIAA began its certifications in 1958. This list; therefore, excludes artists like Bing Crosby whose sales in the 1930s-1950s were not certified. The list also excludes certifications of albums recorded by artists in collaboration with others as part of a singular artist or group's total.

Number	Name	Nationality	Years Active	Genre	Certification in millions
1	The Beatles	UK	60s-70s	Pop / Rock	177
2	Elvis Presley	U.S.	50s-70s	Rock and roll / Pop / Country / Gospel	133.5
3	Garth Brooks	U.S.	80s-10s	Country	128
4	Led Zeppelin	UK	60s-80s	Hard rock / Heavy Metal / Blues rock / Folk rock	111.5
5	Eagles	U.S.	70s-10s	Rock / Country rock	100
6	Billy Joel	U.S.	60s-00s	Rock	79.5
7	Pink Floyd	UK	60s-90s	Progressive rock / Psychedelic rock / Space rock	74.5
8	Elton John	UK	60s-10s	Pop / Rock	72
9	Barbra Streisand	U.S.	60s-10s	Pop	71.5
10	AC/DC	Australia	70s-10s	Hard rock	71
11	Michael Jackson	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop / R&B / Rock	70.5
12	George Strait	U.S.	80s-10s	Country	68.5
13	Aerosmith	U.S.	70s-10s	Hard rock / Heavy Metal / Blues rock	66.5
14	The Rolling Stones	UK	60s-10s	Rock / Blues rock	66
15	Bruce Springsteen	U.S.	70s-10s	Rock / Folk	64.5
16	Madonna	U.S.	80s-10s	Pop / Dance	64
17	Mariah Carey	U.S.	90s-10s	R&B / Pop / Hip-Hop	63.5
18	Metallica	U.S.	80s-10s	Heavy metal	60
19	Van Halen	U.S.	70s-10s	Hard rock	56.5
20	Whitney Houston	U.S.	80s-10s	R&B/Pop	55
21	U2	Ireland	70s-10s	Rock	51.5
22	Kenny Rogers	U.S.	50s-00s	Pop / Rock / Country	51
23	Celine Dion	Canada	80s-10s	Pop	50
24	Fleetwood Mac	UK/U.S.	60s-00s	Rock	48.5
	Neil Diamond	U.S.	60s-10s	Pop	48.5
26	Shania Twain	Canada	90s-10s	Pop country	48
	Kenny G	U.S.	80s-10s	Smooth Jazz	48
28	Journey	U.S.	70s-10s	Pop / Rock	47
29	Alabama	U.S.	70s-10s	Country rock	46
30	Guns N' Roses	U.S.	80s-10s	Hard rock / Heavy Metal	44.5
31	Santana	Mexico/U.S.	60s-10s	Latin / Rock	43.5
	Alan Jackson	U.S.	80s-10s	Country	43.5
33	Eric Clapton	UK	60s-10s	Blues / Blues rock / Rock	42.5
34	Reba McEntire	U.S.	70s-10s	Country	41
	Bob Seger	U.S.	60s-00s	Rock	41
36	Prince	U.S.	70s-10s	R&B / Rock / Funk	39.5
37	Chicago	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / Rock	38.5
	Simon and Garfunkel	U.S.	60s-70s	Folk / Pop	38.5
	2Pac	U.S.	90s	Hip-Hop/Rap	38.5
40	Foreigner	U.S./UK	70s-10s	Rock	37.5
41	Rod Stewart	UK	60s-10s	Pop / Rock	37
	Bob Dylan	U.S.	60s-10s	Folk / Rock	37
	Backstreet Boys	U.S.	90s-10s	Pop / Dance	37
44	Tim McGraw	U.S.	90s-10s	Country	36.5
45	Def Leppard	UK	70s-00s	Hard rock / Heavy Metal	35
	Willie Nelson	U.S.	50s-10s	Country	35
	Eminem	U.S.	90s-10s	Hip-Hop/Rap	35
	Bon Jovi	U.S.	80s-10s	Hard Rock / Glam Metal	35
49	Phil Collins	UK	70s-10s	Pop / R&B	33.5
	R. Kelly	U.S.	90s-10s	R&B / Soul	33.5
51	Britney Spears	U.S.	90s-10s	Pop / Dance	33
	James Taylor	U.S.	60s-10s	Folk / Pop	33
	John Denver	U.S.	60s-90s	Pop / Country	33
54	The Doors	U.S.	60s-70s	Rock / Psychedelic Rock	32.5
	Queen	UK	70s-00s	Pop rock / Hard rock	32.5
56	Dave Matthews Band	U.S.	90s-10s	Rock	32
57	Pearl Jam	U.S.	90s-00s	Grunge / Alternative rock	31.5
58	Boston	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Hard rock	31
59	Dixie Chicks	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop country	30.5
60	Linda Ronstadt	U.S.	60s-00s	Rock/ Pop	30
61	Julio Iglesias	Spain	70s-10s	Latin	29.5
62	Tom Petty	U.S.	70s-10s	Rock	29
63	Ozzy Osbourne	UK	60s-10s	Hard Rock / Heavy metal	28.75
64	Mannheim Steamroller	U.S.	70s-10s	New Age / Christmas	28.5
	Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers	U.S.	70s-10s	Rock	28.5
66	'N Sync	U.S.	90s-00s	Pop	28
	Michael Bolton	U.S.	80s-10s	Pop	28
	Lynyrd Skynyrd	U.S.	60s-00s	Southern rock	28
69	John Mellencamp	U.S.	70s-10s	Rock	27.5
	Brooks & Dunn	U.S.	90s-00s	Country	27.5
	Barry Manilow	U.S.	70s-10s	Pop	27.5
72	Boyz II Men	U.S.	90s-00s	R&B	27
	Frank Sinatra	U.S.	30s-90s	Traditional pop	27
	Jay-Z	U.S.	80s-10s	Hip-Hop/Rap	27
75	Enya	Ireland	80s-00s	New Age / Celtic	26.5
76	Janet Jackson	U.S.	80s-10s	R&B / Pop	26
	Creedence Clearwater Revival	U.S.	60s-70s	Country / Rock	26
	Bee Gees	UK/Australia	60s-00s	Pop/ Disco	26
79	Faith Hill	U.S.	90s-00s	Country	25.5
80	Rush	Canada	70s-10s	Hard rock / Progressive rock	25
	Nirvana	U.S.	80s-90s	Grunge / Alternative rock	25
	ZZ Top	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Blues rock / Hard rock	25
	Luther Vandross	U.S.	60s-00s	R&B	25
	Creed	U.S.	90s-00s	Post-grunge / Hard rock	25
85	The Carpenters	U.S.	60s-80s	Pop	24.5
	Steve Miller Band	U.S.	60s-10s	Rock	24.5
	Kenny Chesney	U.S.	90s-10s	Country	24.5
88	Toby Keith	U.S.	90s-10s	Country	24
	Vince Gill	U.S.	70s-00s	Country	24
90	Earth, Wind & Fire	U.S.	70s-10s	Funk / R&B / Disco	23.5
	The Cars	U.S.	70s-10s	Rock / New wave	23.5
	Mötley Crüe	U.S.	80s-00s	Hard rock / Heavy Metal	23.5
	Sade	UK	80s-10s	R&B / Pop	23.5
94	Green Day	U.S.	80s-10s	Pop Punk / Alternative Rock	23
	Jimmy Buffett	U.S.	60s-10s	Rock / Pop / Country	23
	Kid Rock	U.S.	90s-10s	Rock / Rap / Country	23
97	The Police	UK	70s-80s	Pop / New wave	22.5
	Jimi Hendrix	U.S.	60s-70s	Psychedelic rock	22.5
	Usher	U.S.	90s-10s	R&B / Pop	22.5
	Heart	U.S.	70s-10s	Rock	22.5

Music industry organizations

• Academy of Country Music aka ACM
• Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies aka AARC
• American Association of Independent Music aka A2IM
• American Federation of Musicians aka AFM
• American Federation of Television and Radio Artists aka AFTRA
• American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers aka ASCAP
• Asosiasi Industri Rekaman Indonesia aka ASIRI
• Association of Independent Music aka AIM
• Australian Recording Industry Association aka ARIA
• Billboard Magazine, known for the Billboard Hot 100
• British Phonographic Industry (BPI)
• Broadcast Music Incorporated aka BMI
• Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)
• Country Music Association
• Federation of the Italian Music Industry (FIMI)
• Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (GEMA) in Germany
• Harry Fox Agency (for-profit branch of the NMPA)
• Indian Music Industry (IMI)
• International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)
• Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA)
• Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS)
• Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society (MCPS)
• Musicians' Union
• National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS)
• National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM)
• National Music Publishers Association (NMPA)
• Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI)
• PRS for Music
• Recording Artists' Coalition aka RAC
• Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)
• Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ)
• Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)
• Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA)
• Society of European Stage Authors & Composers (SESAC)
• SoundExchange

History

18th Century

Until the 18th century, the processes of formal composition and of the printing of music took place for the most part with the support of patronage from aristocracies and churches. In the mid-to-late 18th century, performers and composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began to seek commercial opportunities to market their music and performances to the general public. After Mozart's death, his wife (Constanze Weber) continued the process of commercialization of his music through an unprecedented series of memorial concerts, selling his manuscripts, and collaborating with her second husband, Georg Nissen, on a biography of Mozart.

19th Century

In the 19th century, sheet-music publishers dominated the music industry. In the United States, the music industry arose in tandem with the rise of blackface minstrelsy. In the late part of the century the group of music publishers and songwriters which dominated popular music in the United States became known as Tin Pan Alley.

20th Century

At the dawn of the early 20th century, the recording of sound began to function as a disruptive technology in music markets. With the invention of the phonograph, invented by Thomas Edison in 1877, and the onset of widespread radio communications, the way music is heard was changed forever. Opera houses, concert halls, and clubs continued to produce music and perform live, but the power of radio allowed obscure bands to become popular on a nationwide and sometimes worldwide scale.
The "record industry" eventually replaced the sheet music publishers as the industry's largest force. A multitude of record labels came and went. Some note-worthy labels of the earlier decades include the Columbia Records, Crystalate, Decca Records, Edison Bell, The Gramophone Company, Invicta, Kalliope, Pathé, Victor Talking Machine Company and many others.


Many record companies died out as quickly as they had formed, and by the end of the 1980s, the "Big 6" — EMI, CBS, BMG, PolyGram, WEA and MCA — dominated the industry. Sony bought CBS Records in 1987 and changed its name to Sony Music in 1991. In mid-1998, PolyGram merged into Universal Music Group (formerly MCA), dropping the leaders down to a "Big 5".

Genre-wise, music entrepreneurs expanded their industry models into areas like folk music, in which composition and performance had continued for centuries on an ad hoc self-supporting basis. Forming an independent record label, or "indie" label, continues to be a popular choice for up-and-coming musicians to have their music heard, despite the financial backing associated with major labels.

21st Century

In the 21st century, consumers spent less money on recorded music than they had in 1990s, in all formats. Total revenues for CDs, vinyl, cassettes and digital downloads in the world dropped 25% from $38.6 billion in 1999 to $27.5 billion in 2008 according to IFPI. Same revenues in the U.S. dropped from a high of $14.6 billion in 1999 to $10.4 billion in 2008. The Economist and The New York Times report that the downward trend is expected to continue for the foreseeable future —Forrester Research predicts that by 2013, revenues in USA may reach as low as $9.2 billion. This dramatic decline in revenue has caused large-scale layoffs inside the industry, driven retailers (such as Tower Records) out of business and forced record companies, record producers, studios, recording engineers and musicians to seek new business models.


The "Big 5" major record companies became the "Big 4" in 2004 when Sony acquired BMG, and the "Big 3" when EMI was acquired by Universal in 2011.
In the early years of the decade, the record industry took aggressive action against illegal file sharing. In 2001 it succeeded in shutting down Napster (the leading on-line source of digital music), and it has threatened thousands of individuals with legal action. This failed to slow the decline in revenue and proved a public-relations disaster. However, some academic studies have suggested that downloads did not cause the decline. Legal digital downloads became widely available with the debut of the iTunes Store in 2003. The popularity of internet music distribution has increased and in 2009 more than a quarter of all recorded music industry revenues worldwide are now coming from digital channels. However, as The Economist reports, "paid digital downloads grew rapidly, but did not begin to make up for the loss of revenue from CDs." The 2008 British Music Rights survey showed that 80% of people in Britain wanted a legal P2P service, however only half of the respondents thought that the music's creators should be paid. The survey was consistent with the results of earlier research conducted in the United States, upon which the Open Music Model was based.According to Nielson Soundscan, by 2009 CDs accounted for 79 percent of album sales, with 20 percent coming from digital, representing both a 10 percent drop and gain for both formats in 2 years.

The turmoil in the recorded music industry changed the twentieth-century balance between artists, record companies, promoters, retail music-stores and the consumer. As of 2010, big-box stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy sell more records than music-only stores, which have ceased to function as a player in the industry. Recording artists now rely on live performance and merchandise for the majority of their income, which in turn has made them more dependent on music promoters like Live Nation (which dominates tour promotion and owns a large number of music venues.) In order to benefit from all of an artist's income streams, record companies increasingly rely on the "360 deal", a new business-relationship pioneered by Robbie Williams and EMI in 2007. At the other extreme, record companies can offer a simple manufacturing and distribution deal, which gives a higher percentage to the artist, but does not cover the expense of marketing and promotion. Many newer artists no longer see any kind of "record deal" as an integral part of their business plan at all. Inexpensive recording hardware and software made it possible to record reasonable quality music in a bedroom and distribute it over the internet to a worldwide audience. This, in turn, caused problems for recording studios, record producers and audio engineers: the Los Angeles Times reports that as many as half of the recording facilities in that city have failed. Changes in the music industry have given consumers access to a wider variety of music than ever before, at a price that gradually approaches zero.However, consumer spending on music-related software and hardware increased dramatically over the last decade, providing a valuable new income-stream for technology companies such as Apple Inc.

Statistics

Nielsen SoundScan reported that the big four accounted for 81.87% of the US music market in 2005:^[21]

• Universal Music Group (USA based) — 31.71%
• Sony Music Entertainment (USA based) — 25.61%
• Warner Music Group (USA based) — 15%
• EMI Group (UK based) — 9.55%
• Independent labels — 18.13%

and in 2004, 82.64%:

US music market shares, according to Nielsen SoundScan (2005)

• Universal Music Group—29.59%
• Sony Music Entertainment—28.46% (13.26% Sony, 15.20% BMG)
• Warner Music Group—14.68%
• EMI Group—9.91%
• Independent labels—17.36%

World music market sales shares, according to IFPI (2005)

The global market was estimated at $30–40 billion in 2004. Total annual unit sales (CDs, music videos, MP3s) in 2004 were 3 billion.
According to an IFPI report published in August 2005, the big four accounted for 71.7% of retail music sales:

• Universal Music Group—25.5%
• Sony Music Entertainment—21.5%
• EMI Group—13.4%
• Warner Music Group—11.3%
• Independent labels—28.3%

Prior to December 1998, the industry was dominated by the "Big Six": Sony Music and BMG had not yet merged, and PolyGram had not yet been absorbed into Universal Music Group. After the PolyGram-Universal merger, the 1998 market shares reflected a "Big Five", commanding 77.4% of the market, as follows, according to MEI World Report 2000:

• Universal Music Group — 28.8%
• Sony Music Entertainment — 21.1%
• EMI — 14.1%
• Warner Music Group — 13.4%
• Independent labels — 22.6%

Note: the IFPI and Nielsen Soundscan use different methodologies, which makes their figures difficult to compare casually, and impossible to compare scientifically.

Total value by country

According to the IFPI more than 95% of the total revenue from music in 2003 was derived from the 30 major countries in the proportions shown above, organized roughly by geographic location. In the industry, it is commonly accepted that the three major music markets are the United States, Japan and the United Kingdom.

Albums sales and market value

The following table shows album sales and market value in the world in the 1990s–2000s.

#	Country	Album Sales Share	Share of World Market Value
1	USA	37–40%	30–35%
2	Japan	9–12%	16–19%
3	UK	7–9%	6.4–9.1%
4	Germany	7–8%	5.3–6.4%
5	France	4.5–5.5%	5.4–6.3%
6	Canada	2.6–3.3%	1.9–2.8%
7	Australia	1.5–1.8%	1.5–2.0%
8	Brazil	2.0–3.8%	1.1–3.1%
9	Italy	1.7–2.0%	1.5–2.0%
10	Spain	1.7–2.3%	1.4–1.8%
11	Netherlands	1.2–1.8%	1.3–1.8%
12	Mexico	2.1–4.6%	0.8–1.8%
13	Belgium	0.7–0.8%	0.8–1.2%
14	Switzerland	0.75–0.9%	0.8–1.1%
15	Austria	0.5–0.7%	0.8–1.0%
17	Russia	2.0–2.9%	0.5–1.4%
18	Taiwan	0.9–1.6%	0.5–1.1%
19	Argentina	0.5–0.7%	0.5–1.0%
20	Denmark	0.45–0.65%	0.5–0.8%

Singles sales

Physical single sales in the world in the 1990s–2000s and digital single sales in 2005.

#	Country	Physical Sales Share	Digital Sales Share in 2005
	EU	34–50%	13.2%
1	UK	26–32%	1.7%
2	Japan	4–25%	85%
3	USA	14.5–16%	6.3%
4	Germany	9–12%	5%
5	France	4–12.5%	1.9%
6	Australia	1.8–4.6%	0.48%
7	Netherlands	1.3–1.7%	< 0.2%
8	Belgium	0.8-1.8%	< 0.2%
9	Sweden	0.6-0.96%	< 0.2%
10	Switzerland	0.5-0.92%	< 0.2%
11	Austria	0.58-0.82%	< 0.2%
12	Italy	0.3-1.0%	< 0.2%
13	Spain	0.3-0.7%	< 0.2%
14	Norway	0.3-0.47%	< 0.2%
15	Ireland	0.2-0.5%	< 0.2%
16	Canada	0.1-0.6%	< 0.2%
17	Portugal	0.01-1.0%	< 0.2%
18	Republic of Korea	0.02-0.45%	< 0.1%
19	New Zealand	0.19-0.29%	< 0.1%
20	Denmark	0.10-0.25%	< 0.1%

Recorded music retail sales

Interim physical retail sales in 2005 - all figures in millions.
Approximately 21% of the gross CD revenue numbers in 2003 can be attributed to used CD sales growing to approximately 27% in 2007 (the growth is attributed to increasing on-line sales of used product by outlets such as Amazon.com, the growth of used music media is expected to continue to grow as the cost of digital downloads continues to rise.)

COUNTRY		UNITS				VALUE		CHANGE
		Singles	CD	DVD	Total Units	$US	Local Currency	Units	Value
1	USA	14.7	300.5	11.6	326.8	4783.2	4783.2	−5.70%	−5.30%
2	Japan	28.5	93.7	8.5	113.5	2258.2	239759	−6.90%	−9.20%
3	UK	24.3	66.8	2.9	74.8	1248.5	666.7	−1.70%	−4.00%
4	Germany	8.5	58.7	4.4	71	887.7	689.7	−7.70%	−5.80%
5	France	11.5	47.3	4.5	56.9	861.1	669.1	7.50%	−2.70%
6	Italy	0.5	14.7	0.7	17	278	216	−8.40%	−12.30%
7	Canada	0.1	20.8	1.5	22.3	262.9	325	0.70%	−4.60%
8	Australia	3.6	14.5	1.5	17.2	259.6	335.9	−22.90%	−11.80%
9	India	–	10.9	–	55.3	239.6	11500	−19.20%	−2.40%
10	Spain	1	17.5	1.1	19.1	231.6	180	−13.40%	−15.70%
11	Netherlands	1.2	8.7	1.9	11.1	190.3	147.9	−31.30%	−19.80%
12	Russia	–	25.5	0.1	42.7	187.9	5234.7	−9.40%	21.20%
13	Mexico	0.1	33.4	0.8	34.6	187.9	2082.3	44.00%	21.50%
14	Brazil	0.01	17.6	2.4	24	151.7	390.3	−20.40%	−16.50%
15	Austria	0.6	4.5	0.2	5	120.5	93.6	−1.50%	−9.60%
16	Switzerland **	0.8	7.1	0.2	7.8	115.8	139.2	n/a	n/a
17	Belgium	1.4	6.7	0.5	7.7	115.4	89.7	−13.80%	−8.90%
18	Norway	0.3	4.5	0.1	4.8	103.4	655.6	−19.70%	−10.40%
19	Sweden	0.6	6.6	0.2	7.2	98.5	701.1	−29.00%	−20.30%
20	Denmark	0.1	4	0.1	4.2	73.1	423.5	3.70%	−4.20%
	Top 20	74.5	757.1	42.8	915.2	12378.7		−6.60%	−6.30%

In its June 30, 2000 annual report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Seagram reported that Universal Music Group made 40% of the worldwide classical music sales over the preceding year.

Business structure

The music industry is a complex system of many different organizations, firms and individuals and has undergone dramatic changes in the 21st century. However, the majority of the participants in the music industry still fulfill their traditional roles, which are described below.

Recorded music and compositions

There are three types of property that are created and sold by the recording industry: compositions, recordings and media (such as CDs or MP3s). There may be many recordings of a single composition and a single recording will typically be distributed into many media.

Compositions

Compositions are created by songwriters or composers and are originally owned by the composer. The composer may sell the copyright to another party. Compositions are (traditionally) licensed or "assigned" to publishing companies. A publishing contract specifies the business relationship between the copyright owner and the publishing company. The publishing company (or a collection society operating on behalf of many such publishers, songwriters and composers) collects fees (known as "publishing royalties") when the composition is used. A portion of the royalties are paid by the publishing company to the copyright owner, depending on the terms of the contract. Typically (although not universally), the publishing company will provide the owner with an advance against future earnings when the publishing contract is signed. A publishing company will also promote the compositions, such as by acquiring song "placements" on television or in films.

Recordings

Recordings are created by recording artists, often with the assistance of record producers and audio engineers. They were traditionally made in recording studios (who are paid a daily or hourly rate) in a recording session. In the 21st century, advances in recording technology have allowed many producers and artists to create "home studios", bypassing the traditional role of the recording studio. The record producer oversees all aspects of the recording, making many of the logistic, financial and artistic decisions in cooperation with the artist. Audio engineers (including recording, mixing and mastering engineers) are responsible for the audio quality of the recording. A recording session may also require the services of an arranger or studio musicians.

Recordings are (traditionally) owned by record companies. A recording contract specifies the business relationship between a recording artist and the record company. In a traditional contract, the company provides an advance to the artist who agrees to record music that will be owned by the company. The A&R department of a record company is responsible for finding new talent and overseeing the recording process. The company pays for the recording costs and the cost of promoting and marketing the record. For physical media (such as CDs), the company also pays to manufacture and distribute the physical recordings. Smaller record companies (known as "indies") will form business relationships with other companies to handle many of these tasks. If contractually bound to do so, the record company pays the recording artist a portion of the income from the sale of the recordings, generally known as a mechanical royalty. (This is distinct from the publishing royalty, described above.) This portion is similar to a percentage, but may be limited or expanded by a number of factors (such as free goods, recoupable expenses, bonuses, etc.) that are specified by the record contract. Session musicians and orchestra members (as well as a few recording artists in special markets) are under contract to provide work for hire; they're typically only paid one-time fees or regular wages for their services, rather than royalties.

Physical media

Physical media (such as CDs) are sold by music retailers and are owned by the consumer. A music distributor delivers the physical media from the manufacturer to the retailer and maintains relationships with retailers and record companies. The music retailer pays the distributor, who in turn pays the record company for the recordings. The record company pays mechanical royalties to the publisher, composer, and songwriter via a collection society. The record company then pays royalties, if contractually obligated, to the recording artist. In the case of digital downloads, there is no physical media other than the consumer's hard drive. The distributor is optional in this situation; large online shops may pay the labels directly, but digital distributors do exist to service vendors large and small. When purchasing digital downloads, the consumer may be required to agree to record company and vendor licensing terms beyond those which are inherent in copyright; for example, some may allow freely sharing the recording, but others may restrict the user to storing the music on a specific number of hard drives.

Other uses of recorded music and compositions

Sheet music provides an income stream that is paid exclusively to the composers and their publishing company. When a recording is broadcast (either on radio or by a service such as Muzak), performance rights organisations (such as the ASCAP and BMI in the US or MCPS and PRS in the UK), collect a third type of royalty known as a performance royalty, which is paid to composers and recording artists. This royalty is typically much smaller than publishing or mechanical royalties. When recordings are used in television and film, the composer and their publishing company are typically paid through a synchronization license. Subscription services (such as Rhapsody) also provide an income stream directly to record companies, and through them, to artists, contracts permitting.

Regional variations and industry evolution

The industry is further complicated by the fact that the definition of "royalty" and "copyright" varies from country to country and region to region, which changes the terms of some of these business relationships.
In addition to these traditional business relationships, new ways of doing business are being developed in the 21st century. The traditional lines that once divided artist, publisher, record company, distributor, retail and consumer electronics have become blurred. Artists may own their own publishing companies, artist management companies may promote and market recordings on behalf of their clients, artists may promote and market themselves using only free services such as YouTube or social media, consumer electronics companies have become digital music retailers, and so on, in many variations. New digital music distribution technologies have also forced both government and industry to re-examine the definitions of intellectual property and the rights of all the parties involved.

Live music

A promoter brings together a performing artist and a venue owner and arranges contracts. A booking agency represents the artist to promoters, makes deals and books performances. Consumers usually buy tickets either from the venue or from a ticket distribution service such as Ticketmaster. In the US, Live Nation is the dominant company in all of these roles: they own most of the large venues in the US, they are the largest promoter, and they own Ticketmaster.

Choices about where and when to tour are decided by the artist's management and the artist, sometimes in consultation with the record company. Record companies may provide tour support; they may finance a tour in the hopes that it will help promote the sale of recordings. However, in the 21st century, it has become more common to release recordings to promote tours, rather than book tours to promote records.

Successful artists will usually employ a road crew: a semi-permanent touring organization that travels with the artist. This is headed by a tour manager and provides stage lighting, live sound reinforcement, musical instrument tuning and maintenance and transportation. On large tours, the road crew may also include an accountant, stage manager and catering. Local crews are typically hired to help move equipment on and off stage. On small tours, all of these jobs may be handled by just a few roadies, or by the musicians themselves.

Artist management, representation and staff

Artists may hire a number of people from other fields to assist them with their career. The artist manager oversees all aspects of an artist's career in exchange for a percentage of the artist's income. An entertainment lawyer assists them with the details of their contracts with record companies and other deals. A business manager handles financial transactions, taxes and bookkeeping. Unions, such as AFTRA in the U.S., provide health insurance and other services for musicians.

Other income streams

A successful artist functions in the market as a brand and, as such, may derive income from many other streams, such as merchandise or internet-based services. These are typically overseen by the artist's manager and take the form of relationships between the artist and companies that specialize in these products.

Music industry

The music industry or music business sells compositions, recordings and performances of music. Among the many individuals and organizations that operate within the industry are the musicians who compose and perform the music; the companies and professionals who create and sell recorded music (e.g., music publishers, producers, studios, engineers, record labels, retail and online music stores, performance rights organizations); those that present live music performances (booking agents, promoters, music venues, road crew); professionals who assist musicians with their careers (talent managers, business managers, entertainment lawyers); those who broadcast music (satellite and broadcast radio); journalists; educators; musical instrument manufacturers; as well as many others.

In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the music industry was dominated by the publishers of sheet music. By the middle of the century records had supplanted sheet music as the largest player in the music business: in the commercial world people began speaking of "the recording industry" as a loose synonym of "the music industry". Since 2000, sales of recorded music have dropped off substantially, while live music has increased in importance. Three "major corporate labels" dominate recorded music — Universal Music Group (after purchasing EMI in November 2011), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Music Group — each of which consists of many smaller companies and labels serving different regions and markets. The live music industry is dominated by Live Nation, the largest promoter and music venue owner. Live Nation is a former subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, which is the largest owner of radio stations in the United States. Other important music industry companies include Creative Artists Agency (a management and booking company) and Apple Inc. (which runs the world's largest music store, the iTunes Store).

Inspiring and Interesting Quotes about Music

People have recognized the many benefits of music since the dawn of recorded history.  I have scoured the Internet to find the most meaningful and inspiring quotes about music.  These come from a wide variety of ancient and modern sources; sayings from both musicians and non-musicians.  I hope that you will find these inspiring whether you play music or just enjoy grooving to it.  Leave comments if there are other quotes or tell us your favorites.

• A painter paints pictures on canvas.  But musicians paint their pictures on silence. – Leopold Stokowski
• Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. – Berthold Auerbach
• All deep things are song.  It seems somehow the very central essence of us, song; as if all the rest were but wrappages and hulls! – Thomas Carlyle
• If the King loves music, it is well with the land. – Mencius
• Without music life would be a mistake. – Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche
• Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons.  You will find it is to the soul what a water bath is to the body. – Oliver Wendell Holmes
• If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music. – Gustav Mahler
• Alas for those that never sing, but die with all their music in them! – Oliver Wendell Holmes
• Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom.  If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn. – Charlie Parker

• Why waste money on psychotherapy when you can listen to the B Minor Mass? – Michael Torke
• He who sings scares away his woes. – Cervantes
• Music was my refuge.  I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. – Maya Angelou
• Were it not for music, we might in these days say, the Beautiful is dead. – Benjamin Disraeli
• Music is what feelings sound like. – Author Unknown
• Music is the poetry of the air. – Richter
• If I were to begin life again, I would devote it to music.  It is the only cheap and unpunished rapture upon earth.  Sydney Smith
• There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is. – William P. Merrill
• Men profess to be lovers of music, but for the most part they give no evidence in their opinions and lives that they have heard it. – Henry David Thoreau

• Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life. – Ludwig van Beethoven
• I have my own particular sorrows, loves, delights; and you have yours.  But sorrow, gladness, yearning, hope, love, belong to all of us, in all times and in all places.  Music is the only means whereby we feel these emotions in their universality. – H.A. Overstreet
• My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require. – Edward Elgar
• Life can’t be all bad when for ten dollars you can buy all the Beethoven sonatas and listen to them for ten years. – William F. Buckley, Jr.
• Music cleanses the understanding; inspires it, and lifts it into a realm which it would not reach if it were left to itself. – Henry Ward Beecher
• Play the music, not the instrument. – Author Unknown
• Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence. – Robert Fripp
• Music’s the medicine of the mind. – John A. Logan
• You are the music while the music lasts. – T.S. Eliot

• Music is the universal language of mankind. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
• Music rots when it gets too far from the dance.  Poetry atrophies when it gets too far from music. – Ezra Pound
• He who hears music, feels his solitude peopled at once. – Robert Browning
• Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. – Victor Hugo
• Music has been my playmate, my lover, and my crying towel. – Buffy Sainte-Marie
• Music is an outburst of the soul. – Frederick Delius
• Music is the art which is most nigh to tears and memory. – Oscar Wilde
• In music the passions enjoy themselves. – Nietzsche
• Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words. – Robert G. Ingersoll

• Music is the literature of the heart; it commences where speech ends. – Alphonse de Lamartine
• When words leave off, music begins. -  Heinrich Heine
• Truly to sing, that is a different breath. – Rainer Maria Rilke
• Music is the shorthand of emotion. – Leo Tolstoy
• There is no truer truth obtainable by Man than comes of music. – Robert Browning
• A jazz musician is a juggler who uses harmonies instead of oranges. – Benny Green
• The pause is as important as the note. – Truman Fisher
• Silence is the fabric upon which the notes are woven. – Lawrence Duncan
• Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. – Confucius

• Rock music in its lyrics often talks ahead of the time about what’s going on in the country. – Edmund G. Brown
• The discovery of song and the creation of musical instruments both owed their origin to a human impulse which lies much deeper than conscious intention:  the need for rhythm in life… the need is a deep one, transcending thought, and disregarded at our peril. – Richard Baker
• Music is the medicine of the breaking heart. – Leigh Hunt
• Country music is three chords and the truth. – Harlan Howard
• I think sometimes could I only have music on my own terms, could I live in a great city, and know where I could go whenever I wished the ablution and inundation of musical waves, that were a bath and a medicine. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies. – Edward George Bulwer-Lytton
• The pleasure we obtain from music comes from counting, but counting unconsciously.  Music is nothing but unconscious arithmetic. – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
• After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. – Aldous Huxley
• Music is love in search of a word. – Sidney Lanier

• I worry that the person who thought up Muzak may be thinking up something else. – Lily Tomlin
• Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.  – Ludwig van Beethoven
• Music is a higher revelation than philosophy.  – Ludwig van Beethoven
• Music  is the one incorporeal entrance into the higher world of knowledge which comprehends mankind but which mankind cannot comprehend.  – Ludwig van Beethoven
• Leaders must encourage their organizations to dance to forms of music yet to be heard.  – Warren G. Bennis
• Music can name the unnameable and communicate the unknowable. – Leonard Bernstein
• Music is well said to be the speech of angels.  – Thomas Carlyle
• The truest expression of a people is in its dance and music.  – Agnes de Mile
• Number is the Word but is not utterance; it is wave and light, though no one sees it; it is rhythm and music, though no one hears it. Its variations are limitless and yet it is immutable. Each form of life is a particular reverberation of Number. – Maurice Druon

 

• I think there are only three things America will be known for 2,000 years from now when they study this civilization: the Constitution, music, and baseball. – Gerald Early
• There is no feeling, except the extremes of fear and grief, that does not find relief in music. – George Eliot
• Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the secret of life bringing peace, abolishing strife. – Kahlil Gibran
• As any jazz musician knows, it takes flexibility and adaptability for improvisation to create beauty. – Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer
• Music isn’t just learning notes and playing them, You learn notes to play to the music of your soul. – Katie Greenwood
• Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite. – Thomas Carlyle
• Without music, life is a journey through a desert.  – Pat Conroy
• Extraordinary how potent cheap music is. – Noel Coward
• The history of a people is found in its songs.  – George Jellinek

• I think music in itself is healing. It’s an explosive expression of humanity. It’s something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we’re from, everyone loves music. -  Billy Joel
• It is from the blues that all that may be called American music derives it most distinctive characteristics.  – James Weldon Johnson
• Music is the vernacular of the human soul. – Geoffrey Latham
• Just as certain selections of music will nourish your physical body and your emotional layer, so other musical works will bring greater health to your mind. – Hal A. Lingerman
• Music is a beautiful opiate, if you don’t take it too seriously. – Henry Miller
• If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing. – Zimbabwe Proverb
• The new sound-sphere is global. It ripples at great speed across languages, ideologies, frontiers and races. The economics of this musical Esperanto is staggering. Rock and pop breed concentric worlds of fashion, setting and life-style. Popular music has brought with it sociologies of private and public manner, of group solidarity. The politics of Eden come loud. – George Steiner
• A good composer does not imitate; he steals. – Igor Stravinsky
• Remember, information is not knowledge; knowledge is not wisdom; wisdom is not truth; truth is not beauty; beauty is not love; love is not music; music is the best. – Frank Zappa

 

• Jazz came to America three hundred years ago in chains. – Paul Whiteman
• There’s a basic rule which runs through all kinds of music, kind of an unwritten rule. I don’t know what it is. But I’ve got it. – Ron Wood
• There are more love songs than anything else. If songs could make you do something we’d all love one another. – Frank Zappa
• You are the music while the music lasts. – T. S. Eliot
• True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time. My people are Americans and my time is today. – George Gershwin
• Sounds like the blues are composed of feeling, finesse, and fear. – Billy Gibbons
• The effects of good music are not just because it’s new; on the contrary music strikes us more the more familiar we are with it. – Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
• Music and dancing (the more the pity) have become so closely associated with ideas of riot and debauchery among the less cultivated classes, that a taste for them, for their own sakes, can hardly be said to exist, and before they can be recommended as innocent or safe amusements, a very great change of ideas must take place. – Sir John Herschel
• Music, the greatest good that mortals know, and all of heaven we have below. -  Joseph Addison