Jay-Z’s album sales have experienced a near five-fold boost after his triumphant Glastonbury performance, it has been confirmed.

The rapper’s appearance on the Pyramid Stage at the legendary Somerset festival had provoked much controversy, with many critics citing his booking as the reason for slower ticket sales for this year’s event while Oasis’ Noel Gallagher said a hip-hop artist performing was “wrong”.

But having wowed the Glastonbury crowds on Saturday night – including a tongue-in-cheek cover of Gallagher’s Wonderwall – sales of Jay-Z’s The Black Album have increased by some 480 per cent during and after the festival.

While the album is only just inside the current top 100 – meaning that its sales start from a lower base than other records – the increase in the rapper’s popularity is noticeable all the same.

His single 99 Problems is likely to shoot into the top 25 this weekend while Numb/Encore – his Linkin Park collaboration – Hard Knock Life, Big Pimpin’ and Dirt Off Your Shoulder are also set to climb the singles chart.

HMV spokesman Gennaro Castaldo commented: “With the huge amount of media coverage that it now enjoys, combined with the immediacy of purchasing music these days, the Glastonbury effect on artist sales appears more pronounced than ever before.

“The choice of Jay-Z to headline may have been a controversial one with some commentators, but it seems that the fans who were there or watched his performance on TV loved it, and we’re seeing some noticeable increases in sales of his albums and downloads at HMV as a result.”

MGMT and Vampire Weekend have both benefited from their Glastonbury exposure with sales up by 195 and 46 percent respectively while Duffy’s star continues to rise, with sales of her debut Rockferry increasing by 163 percent following her sun-drenched Other Stage performance.

The top ten bestselling Glastonbury artists are: (sales increase)

1 Jay-Z: The Black Album (480 percent)
2 MGMT: Oracular Spectacular (195 percent)
3 Duffy: Rockferry (163 percent)
4 Editors: An End Has A Start (134 percent)
5 Verve: Urban Hymns (123 percent)
6 Kings of Leon: Because Of The Times (78 percent)
7 Amy Winehouse: Back To Black (74 percent)
8 Elbow: The Seldom Seen Kid (54 percent)
9 Neil Diamond: The Best Of (51 percent)
10 Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend (46 percent)

Source

WENN