Sales of Spears’ ‘In the Zone’ fall sharply in second week

After selling 609,000 copies in its first week in the stores, Britney Spears’ “In the Zone” sold only 251,000 in its second week. But a leading industry analyst says that doesn’t mean Britney-haters can declare the teen-pop star’s move to a more adult pop sound a bust.

“It’s not unusual when you start big to see an album experience a 50% or even 60% decline,” Geoff Mayfield, director of charts for Billboard magazine, said Wednesday. “She had so much publicity front-loaded for that first week and there really wasn’t anything to help sustain that in the week after. I don’t see the sales drop as being alarming for her at all.”

Given the volatility of today’s record market, it may not be possible to gauge the album’s success or failure until the spring, he added.

“The holiday season is a very competitive period, so if she’s able to hang around the Top 10 somewhere, even if sales decline, that will be promising because she was able to stick it out in heavy traffic,” Mayfield said.

The sales drop, however, meant that Spears’ album fell from No. 1 to No. 3 this week. Jay-Z reclaimed the No. 1 position, while a No Doubt singles compilation finished at No. 2. Two artists saw their albums move up dramatically on the charts: Hilary Duff (from No. 18 to No. 4) and Korn (No. 19 to No. 9).