Today’s music model: meet the 1950s

Someone teleported through time from the early 1950s to 2009 would find a music business curiously similar to the landscape of 60 years ago.  Few specialty record outlets.  Department stores dominating the market.  A singles-driven industry.  Pop music dominating radio.  TV musical talent shows all the rage.

That's from the 21 December issue of Variety.  One difference, of course, is that the best-selling album of this decade — but not the 1950s — was by The Beatles.