So, we now have the post-Brits sales reports to add to the TV ratings we reported on on Friday. And an award is definitely worth having in terms of shifting units - certainly if your name is Paul McCartney. Following his greatest hits set at the Brits last Wednesday sales of his most recent album 'Memory Almost Full' were up 515% on Thursday according to HMV.
Best Male winner Mark Ronson saw his album sales go up by 271%, Best International Female Kylie Minogue got a 242% boost, while double winners Take That and Arctic Monkeys saw sales of their recent albums rise by 159% and 151% respectively. Of course those figures only really make sense in the context of sales pre-Brits (ie if an album has been out a long time and had relatively low sales last week, the post-Brits uplift will come out higher in percentage terms), but nevertheless HMV's spokesman said the Brits boost was bigger this year than last year.
Gennaro Castaldo said the Brits effect on sales was becoming "more pronounced each year", adding: "The Brits can also remind us of our musical heritage, allowing younger fans in particular to discover the brilliance of established stars, as appears to be the case this year with Paul McCartney, Take That and Kylie".
As previously reported, the recent surprise Grammy win for Herbie Hancock's 'River: The Joni Letters' helped take that album from 159 to 5 in the US's Billboard albums chart.