Reading this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8446463.stm

I was struck by the statistic that, although Susan Boyle sold 3.1 albums in the US this year, ony 86.000 of them were digital downloads, a very different proportion to most other artists.

Clearly it implies that Susan Boyle has not just tapped into a different music audience, it is also an audience that does not yet see downloads as their primary means of obtaining music.

What should record companies learn from this in how they focus their businesses and marketing?

Aren't almost all album sales physical though? I thought that was true for most artists?

Even more so in the run up to Christmas like Boyle's album, you can't give someone a download as a present

It should tell record companies that there are still many people who are easily led by hype. I don't think the record companies ever forgot that, though.

It should tell them that they need to create a talent show platform that in itself creates the impression that stupid, ugly people are untalented then bring on somebody set to contradict that, ensuring that they play comedic music in the interview before their audition so to mislead the television audience. They then perform well, and people will feel inspired and heartwarmed, leading to commercial success despite the fact that that album's full of covers that could've already been interpreted by plenty of other good singers previously (it doesn't even matter that 'I Dreamed a Dream,' her trademark song and the title of the effing album, isn't the full version). Maybe it wouldn't work twice, though.