Mozart sold more records this year than Beyonce
(By Kelcie Willis | Published on December 12, 2016 for Cox Media Group National Content Desk)
Beyoncé nearly dominated the music conversation in 2016 since her release of a surprise single and video for "Formation" and performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in February.
Since then, she released another surprise visual album, "Lemonade," sold out a world tour and made a surprise appearance at the CMA Awards with the Dixie Chicks in November.
But she didn't sell the most records this year.
Billboard reported that a box set of classical artist Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's recordings is the year's biggest-selling CD release.
Universal Music Group said that since its Oct. 28 release, "Mozart 225: The New Complete Edition" sold 1.25 million records in five weeks. Comparatively, "Lemonade" sold 1.05 million records in the same time period after its April 27 release.
Mozart's sales have also outpaced Drake's "Views" and Kanye West's "Life of Pablo."
The box set, which contains 200 CDs of recordings of Mozart's compositions by 600 artist, commemorates after the 225th anniversary of his death.
"It is wonderful to see the reaction to this box set, which is the fruit of years of scholarship, planning and curation," Paul Moseley, UMG's director told Billboard. "Mozart’s immortal melodies, no less than The Beatles or Abba, are in some way part of all our lives – and this edition is the perfect way to celebrate that on his 225th anniversary."
