No single artist's album has managed to go platinum in 2014, indicating a new low in sales for the music industry.
According to Forbes, the only album to surpass the one million sales mark required to be determined "platinum", is the Frozen soundtrack. By contrast, five albums had reached that point by this time last year, including Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience which had sold 2.3 million copies by Q4.
On top of this, after the all conquering Frozen soundtrack, the two best selling albums were released last year, Beyoncé's self-titled offering and Lorde's Pure Heroine. Both of those albums have sold around 750,000 units this year, but shifted the bulk of overall sales last year.
If you're looking for respite in the singles market, the news isn't much better. 60 songs in total have gone platinum, compared with 83 this time last year. Also there aren't any huge releases in the pipeline that are likely to push up the numbers and rescue 2014, even despite the Q4 sales bump.