Does A Song On TV Mean Sales? Maybe.
From the Wall Street Journal via Digital Audio Insider:
Snow Patrol on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
More than 22 million viewers heard this band’s single, "Chasing Cars," in the final moments of this medical drama’s season ender on ABC. The result: The song sold 21,000 downloads in the week after the finale, according to Nielsen SoundScan, compared to 1,600 downloads the week before…Imogen Heap on ‘The O.C.’
On May 18, British singer Imogen Heap’s latest single, "Speeding Cars," was featured on the season finale of Fox’s popular teen drama, "The O.C." In the week that followed, the song sold 7,000 downloads, up from 1,500 the week before, according to Nielsen.
Does this make a career? No. Is it partially driven by the ability to download a single song instantly rather than having to drive to a store and buy the full CD? Yes. (I’d love to compare the CD sales figures too.) Is it a great tool in the buzz-building toolbox? Absolutely.
Heap’s album sales rose 6% the week the song was played on The OC — but digital album sales rose 27%.
Snow Patrol’s album dropped 43% after the Grey’s Anatomy episode. Digital album sales dropped only 2%. CD sales dropped 51%, a fairly typical second-week drop for a rock album that got a big marketing push (esp. at mass merchants) through the first week of release.