An article “12 Extremely Disappointing Facts About Popular Music” posted by bloggers and Facebook users has become a popular read in the last few days. It’s a nice sound byte but holds no merit when one digs beneath the surface.

The article states blurbs such as Ke$ha’s “Tik-Tok” sold more copies than ANY Beatles single and Katy Perry holds the same record as Michael Jackson for most number one singles from an album.

First the landscape has changed, therefore the variables change. When comparing the 1960’s to the year 2011, one must consider a host of factors including demographic, technology, distribution, cost, radio, and disposable entertainment income.

iTunes and sites such as YouTube and Amazon spiked the sales of singles within the last 5 years. The explosion of mobile phones and computers also played a role in the distribution of music. Also note that Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Nielsen since March 1, 1991, prior to that, the tracking system wasn’t efficient. Many sales from The Beatles and artists like Michael Jackson simply weren’t tracked.

Don’t worry folks, Paul McCartney’s estimated worth is 725 million. Our favorite songs by The Beatles will outlive the beats written for artists like Ke$ha and Katy Perry.

The number 1 album this week is “Blue Slide Park” by Mac Miller, real name Malcolm McCormick.

Miller records for Rostrum Records, an indie label from Pittsburgh owned by a guy named Benjy Grinburg. It’s the same label that launched Wiz Khalifa on Atlantic Records. For the Mac Miller album, which is hip hop with melodies, Rostrum is distributed through Universal Music Group.

It does seem like Mac Miller’s success comes from hard work and social networking on Facebook, where he has more than a million friends. He also has million Twitter followers. All that translated into about 149,000 CD sales

Dr. Luke, the producer and writer behind the mega hits from Britney Spears, Kesha, Taio Cruz and Katy Perry has signed an exclusive 5 year deal with Sony.

Sony’s CEO Doug Morris says this about Luke:

“He’s the best guy at the moment, as far as a writer and a producer. He and Jimmy (Iovine) are very different, but it’s the same kind of level of intellect and talent.”

Since Luke signed a deal with Sony, this means he can no longer work with Katy Perry who is signed to Capitol Records. He produced and co-wrote nearly all of Perry’s hits, including ‘Hot N Cold,’ ‘I Kissed a Girl,’ ‘California Gurls,’ ‘Teenage Dream,’ ‘E.T.’ and ‘Last Friday Night.’

The Guardian published an article “When bands fall off cliffs”, discussing artists like Kaiser Chiefs and Duffy selling millions of their debut album and flopping on the second release.

Imagine selling millions of records and being loved by the press, the record label and fans..then being abandoned. Read the article here.

New York City’s CMJ begins today. The full schedule can be viewed here.