Nearly 46 years after his death, Elvis Presley’s music is still making an impact.
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In a study compiled by offline marketing company Oppizi comparing physical music sales among 10 of the biggest U.S. artists–Presley, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, Cher, Prince, Janet Jackson and Billy Joel–Presley came in at No. 1, with physical sales topping more than 320 million units. The majority of those sales came from vinyl albums that totaled more than 212 million, with physical singles reaching more than 135 million. Presley was recently brought into the national spotlight with the 2022 Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic, Elvis, which starred Austin Butler in the title role.
Sinatra comes in second place, with his physical singles selling north of 95 million. Jackson is in third place with physical single sales reaching 79 million sales. Rounding out the top five are Madonna and Wonder, who’ve amassed 75 million and 65 million physical single sales, respectively.
“The rise in LP sales is fascinating to witness, as physical copies of music make a comeback,” a spokesperson from Oppizi states in a press release. “It appears physical goods still hold value for many people, even in the digital age. … Often, music lovers feel like digital downloads make them lose out on any sort of physical interaction with the music they are listening to…Therefore, for music artists looking for ways to promote their music, pushing physical copies could be a great way to give fans that desired nostalgic purchasing experience.”
Though Presley passed away in August 1977, a 2017 poll conducted by CBS News showed that 47 percent of respondents said they still consider themselves Presley fans. 55 percent of respondents over the age of 65 said they are Presley fans, with 43 percent of people aged 18-34 also marking themselves as fans of the late legend’s music.
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