TOP SELLING PRINT MUSIC TITLES.

Publishers Rank The Best Selling Products By Category

What are the best selling print music titles? We put that question to the industry's major publishers, and in the following pages we list their best selling titles. Informed industry estimates place the number of active titles at around 75,000. The titles listed below represent less than 1% of those available but generate a disproportionate share of the industry's $471 million in retail sales (1999 data).

In describing the distribution of sales, the 80/20 rule is always popular (20% of the customers or products typically generate 80% of the business). In print however, we think the spread is more like 95/5. Divide retail print sales of $471 million by the 75,000 active titles and you get an average revenue per title of $6,280. Given that most titles sell for about $20, average yearly unit sales per title are just a little north of 300 units. Any number of the titles listed below could easily generate sales of over 30,000, so it's conceivable that there are a sizable number of titles that barely sell 100 copies a year.

These facts help explain why no one ever described print music as a "get rich quick" business. Retailers complain about the burden of carrying a comprehensive inventory of slow turning print. However, publishers obviously have the same problem.

ALFRED PUBLISHING

PIANO METHODS

1. Alfred's Adult All-in-One Piano Method

2. Alfred's Basic Piano Library Lesson Book 1A

3. Alfred's Basic Prep Course Lesson Book A

INSTRUMENTAL METHODS

1. Accent on Achievement-B flat Clarinet

2. Strictly Strings Book 1- Violin

3. Alfred's Drum method Book 1

CHORAL, VOCAL BOOKS:

1. Complete Choral Warm-up Book

2. Italian Songs & Arias for Medium High Voice

3. I Sing, You Sing

GUITAR METHODS

1. Alfred's basic Guitar Method Book 1

2. Teach Yourself Guitar - Book & Enhanced CD

3. Basix Guitar Method

CARL FISCHER

BAND METHODS

Sounds Spectacular

PERCUSSION METHODS

Snare Drum method by Vic Firth

Advanced Funk Studies by Rich Latham

Groovin' in Clave by Ignacio Berroa

PIANO METHODS

1. Eckstein Method

2. Music Pathways

CHORAL TITLES

Battle Hymn of the Republic (arr. Wilhousky)

Carol of the Bells (arr. Wilhousky)

My Eternal King (arr. Wilhousky)

MEL BAY PUBLICATIONS

GUITAR METHODS

1. Modern Guitar Method Grade 1

2. Mastering The Guitar 1A

3. Children's Guitar Method

PIANO METHODS

1. You Can Teach Yourself Piano

2. You Can Teach Yourself Jazz Piano

3. You Can Teach Yourself Blues Piano

CHORAL WORKS

1. Complete Book of Bach Chorales

2. Mallory & McCall's Irish Pub Songbook

3. Old Time Gospel Song Book

INSTRUMENTAL WORKS

1. You Can Teach Yourself Recorder

2. Fun With The Violin

3. Violin Method

FJH PUBLICATIONS

PIANO METHOD:

1. Piano Adventures A Basic Piano Method, by Nancy & Randall Faber

2. Piano Adventures for the Older Beginner, by Nancy & Randall Faber

SUPPLEMENTAL PIANO SERIES

PreTime to BigTime Piano Supplementary Library, arranged by Faber & Faber

GUITAR METHOD

The FJH Young Beginner Guitar Method, by Philip Groeber, David Hoge, Leo Welch, & Rey Sanchez

HAL LEONARD

PIANO VOCAL SHEET MUSIC

1. Sarah McLachlan: Angel

2. My Heart Will Go On

3. You'll Be in My Heart

POP FOLIOS

1. Sarah McLachlan: Surfacing

2. The Beatles Best

3. Billy Joel Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 & 2

GUITAR SONG BOOKS

1. Creed: My Own Prison

2. Offspring: Americana

3. Nirvana in New York

PIANO METHODS

1. The Hal Leonard Student Piano Library

2. Piano Lessons Book 1

3. Piano Solos Book 1

GUITAR METHODS

1. The Hal Leonard Guitar Method

2. FastTrack method for Guitar

3. The Wolf Marshall Method

BAND & ORCHESTRAL METHODS

1. Essential Elements 2000, Book 1 & 2

2. Essential Elements for Strings

CHORAL METHODS

Essential Elements Choral Method

MUSIC SALES CORP.

TOP POP FOLIOS

1. Tori Amos: Anthology

2. Pink Floyd: The Wall

3. AC/DC: Bonfire

PIANO METHODS

1. The Complete Piano Player

2. The Joy of First-Year Piano

3. You Can Play Piano

GUITAR METHODS

1. The Complete Guitar Player

2. Step One: Guitar

3. Solo Guitar Playing

NEIL A. KJOS

PIANO METHODS

1. Bastien Piano Basics

2. Bastien Piano for Adults

3. Bastien Piano Party

BAND METHODS

1. Standard of Excellence Comprehensive Band Method

2. Standard of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method

3. Foundation for Superior Performance

CHORAL METHODS

1. Successful Sight Signing

2. Successful Warmups

WARNER BROTHERS

1. Santana: Supernatural

2. Celin Dion: All The Way

3. Backstreet Boys: Millennium

GUITAR METHODS

1. 21st Century Guitar Method

2. Aaron Shearer Classic Guitar Tech

3. Ultimate Beginner Guitar Series

CHORAL WORKS

1. Festival Sanctus by John Leavitt

2. I Believe I Can Fly: arr. Teena Chinn

3. All the Pretty Little Horses: arr. Ruth Artman

PIANO METHODS

1. Schaum Piano Course

2. Aaron Piano Course

3. Music Tree

BAND METHODS

1. Belwin 21st Century Band Method

2. First Division Band Course

3. Student Instrumental Course