Michael Jackson's Thriller & the Music Industry

Billboard's Gail Mitchell and Melinda Newman take a nice long look at "How Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Changed The Music Business".

Of course, sales of Thriller, the highest selling studio album of all time, were certainly extraordinary. But a variety of changes affected the music industry, partly fueled by the strength of the previous album Off The Wall, including a simultaneous worldwide release, the release of an unprecedented seven singles and the breakthrough effects of the Thriller music video extravaganza.

The article does a nice job of putting those changes in meaningful context beyond the stats.