Yes. Many labels use to hold back the digital release so that airplay could build up, and subsequently, it'd shoot to #1 that way (Umbrella, Live Your Life, Take a Bow, Makes Me Wonder, Whatever U Like, etc.).
It worked back then, because pirating wasn't as big of an issue as it is now.
Digital repression doesn't really work anymore now that we have increased pirating and YouTube/Spotify to listen to a song.
Exactly. I remember the struggle of waiting like two months for Umbrella to have an iTunes release And Makes Me Wonder and so many other songs took forever to be released to iTunes
No, I think the peak year for digital sales was 2012? It seems to be decreasing this year.
You are correct, 2012 was in fact the best year for digital download sales. Downloads dropped in 2013 when compared to 2012, and now in 2014 when compared to 2013.
And Makes Me Wonder and so many other songs took forever to be released to iTunes 