The long way down is producing a raft of bizarre stats, including a strange one from Justin Bieber. During the most recent week, Bieber scored sales of 60,343 units on My World 2.0, the second-lowest tally for a album chart-topper in the US since Soundscan started tracking in 1991.

The all-time low belongs to the Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture, which scored sales of just over 60,000 in early 2007.

The difference is razor-thin, according to stats from Nielsen Soundscan, and Bieber ducked a dubious distinction. Whether Nielsen is fudging the numbers a bit to avoid a headline is difficult to discern, though sub-60,000 chart-toppers are almost invariably ahead.

The development closely follows a CD-focused think-session at NARM, one that included lots of debate about pricing and special packaging. Across the country, at SanFran MusicTech, the discussions were far beyond physical product, though in reality, CDs remain the most lucrative product that labels have.