Coldplay first act to sell 1 million digital albums in US

"You like us! You really like us!"
"You like us! You really like us!" (Image credit: Frank Trapper/Corbis)

They may not be on Joe Satriani's iPod, but Coldplay are certainly the kings of the digital music age. The band have become the first act to sell over one million full digital albums in the US.

Based on Nielsen SoundScan data, Coldplay have moved 1.358 million digital albums in the States and their label, EMI, reports sales from around the globe totalling two million digital albums worldwide.

And for Coldplay, the stats keep getting better and better: their 2008 release Viva La Vida, is now ranked as the top-selling digital album in SoundScan history. (Although we suspect a certain King Of Pop might stand a chance at besting that figure within a matter of weeks.)

It should be noted that these just-released sales figures of Coldplay's worldwide stats of more than two million full digital albums includes the download sales of four of the band's complete studio albums, a live disc and an EP, and is not calculated on the track equivalent basis (TEA) that SoundScan uses to calculate its digital album chart.

But no matter how you slice it, these guys can afford an awfully big lunch. Viva La Vida, indeed.

Joe Bosso

Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar WorldGuitar PlayerMusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.