Weekly Register: Colt Ford’s Declaration

Colt Ford declares his No. 1 spot on the Country Albums chart this week debuting Declaration of Independence with 31k units. This is Ford’s fourth studio album which features collaborations with Jason Aldean, Wanya Morris of Boyz II Men, Kix Brooks, Montgomery Gentry, Jake Owen, Darius Rucker and more. The Average Joes release was produced by Shannon Houchins and Dann Huff.

“I just can’t thank my fans enough for making this record No. 1,” says an emotional Ford. “I believed this was my best album yet, and my fans have just proved I was right. Today is a great day and I am so blessed.”

In other Average Joes news, President Tom Baldrica recently announced he will soon depart his post with his responsibilities being assumed by Tony Morreale, VP, Marketing & Promotions.

Zac Brown Band’s Uncaged holds the No. 2 position on the country album chart with another 31k units sold this week for a total of 432k RTD.

Gloriana’s Thousand Miles Left Behind sold another 10k units following last week’s debut garnering 33k RTD.

Although slipping, total Country album YTD sales over the prior year continue in positive territory at 2.8% while digital albums over last year show an increase of 36.9%

Looking at individual tracks, Little Big Town’s current single “Pontoon” continues grooving this week by selling another 93k units and reaching 883k RTD.

However, the biggest sales story this week isn’t even on the chart (yet). Taylor Swift announced via a live YouTube chat on Monday (8/13) that her new album Red will be released Oct. 22. Her new single, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” was also released and is headed for a huge debut. Industry sources believe the song will probably sell over 500k downloads by end of the tracking week this Sunday.