Last week’s Country Music Television Awards show wasn’t just about crowning audience favorites.

It was also about boosting sales for the performers; choosing what song to push is a give and take decision between artists and the channel.

“Here we go!”

After Lady Antebellum performed “Lookin’ for a Good Time” on the show, the song’s digital sales shot up 65 percent. But that’s nothing compared to the online explosion performers saw after last year’s event.

Senior VP of Music Strategy Jay Frank explains the two aren’t an apples-to-apples comparison. He says artists showcased a lot of less familiar tracks last year, whereas this year audiences already knew many of the songs.

Frank says that meant sales numbers for this year’s songs were already high, leaving less room for a dramatic spike.

“Both years we had extremely strong stories where we’ve been able to rev up sales, digitally and physically; they just came from a different place this year.”

Frank says that wasn’t one conscious decision; rather, he says a lot of singles showed staying power this year, and performers took advantage of that.

WEB EXTRA:

This year’s performers saw digital and physical album sales increase thusly:

– Brad Paisley (“Play”) increased 52%
– Darius Rucker (“Learn To Live”) increased 44%
– Trace Adkins (“American Man Greatest Hits Volume II”) increased 43%
– Toby Keith (“That Don’t Make Me A Bad Guy”) increased 37%
– Sugarland (“Love On The Inside”) increased 30%
– Lady Antebellum (“Lady Antebellum”) increased 27%
– Jason Aldean (“Wide Open”) increased 25%
– Dierks Bentley (“Feel That Fire”) increased 16%
– Kellie Pickler (“Kellie Pickler”) increased 14%
– Taylor Swift (“Fearless”) increased 10%
– Rascal Flatts (“Unstoppable”) increased 9%
– Keith Urban (“Defying Gravity”) increased 9%

Digital track sales also increased like so:

– Trace Adkins (“You’re Gonna Miss This”) increased 83%
– Lady Antebellum (“Lookin’ For A Good Time”) increased 65%
– Darius Rucker (“Alright”) increased 59%
– Toby Keith (“God Love Her”) increased 44%
– Taylor Swift (“You Belong With Me”) increased 32%
– B-52s (“Love Shack”) increased 29%
– Rascal Flatts (“Summer Nights”) increased 29%
– Dierks Bentley (“Sideways”) increased 27%
– Keith Urban (“Sweet Thing”) increased 21%
– Kellie Pickler (“Best Days Of Your Life”) increased 15%
– Brad Paisley (“Then”) increased 12%
– Jason Aldean (“She’s Country”) increased 11%

2008 digital track sales increases, for comparison:

– Keith Urban (“Raise The Barn”) increased 1840%
– Rascal Flatts (“Bob That Head) increased 722%
– Alan Jackson (“Good Time”) increased 345%
– Tim McGraw (“I Need You”) increased 238%
– LeAnn Rimes (“Nothin’ Better To Do”) increased 114%
– Kenny Chesney (“Never Wanted Nothin’ More”) increased 56%
– Toby Keith (“She’s A Hottie”) increased 38%
– Brad Paisley (“I’m Still A Guy”) increased 25%
– Taylor Swift (“Picture To Burn”) increased 21%