'Hope for Haiti Now' Hits $66 Million Mark

NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — "Hope for Haiti Now" announced that it has raised more than $66 million to date for Haiti relief and recovery efforts. The figure includes proceeds from sales of the "Hope for Haiti Now" album, a collection of live performances from last week's global telethon that today became the first-ever digital-only album to debut at no. 1 on the Billboard 200.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, "Hope for Haiti Now" was purchased for download more than 171,000 times in the United States through Sunday, January 24. The album sold an additional 60,000 copies outside of the U.S. through Sunday. "Hope for Haiti Now" also sold 300,000 individual audio performances as well as 15,000 downloads of the full two-hour video telecast through Sunday. The album has hit no. 1 on iTunes in 18 countries, and "Hope for Haiti Now" is the first project to simultaneously reach the No. 1 spot on the U.S. iTunes album, song ("Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)" by Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge and Rihanna), and television charts.

All retail partners, the record labels, and the artists will donate their share of the proceeds to Haiti relief and recovery funds managed by "Hope for Haiti Now" charities. Performances are available for purchase on iTunes, AmazonMP3, Rhapsody, and Napster. All distribution is provided by INgrooves. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers