So in terms of sales..

[JUSTinPUSHPLAY]

..how is this album gonna work? I assume that anything before the physical release in october isn't gonna count. so when the album is released I can't imagine it'll crack the top 3 with most of their fan base already having the record. I know it's not all about 'sales' but as a fan I want this to be a huge success for them, how are we to know if it is or not if everyone, even those that don't want it, have it?

 

[quadcaster]

I kinda feel like this is the "warm up". It's an amazing album, but I think they're planning on making the big bucks with the quick follow up. Apple paid them for it, so money was made either way.

 

[owl]

I'm guessing with this album they are measuring success a little differently & some would say accordingly.

Sounds like they just want to get it out there.

 

[rennowba]

I really dont think they care to much about the sales if there giving it away for free. But getting paid 100 million dollers at the same time

 

[JUSTinPUSHPLAY]

Oh don't get me wrong, I love the record, and I think it's incredible that they did what they did yesterday, it's just interesting that we heard Bono talking about relevance and challenging the pop charts and here they are with an album that isn't radio friendly at all i think and it's not gonna be a huge char success because of the free release, just seems like conflicting notions there. There is a part of me that thinks "experience" is gonna be a much more modern and big sounding album that will be in our hands by ..years end?? maybe and that's the one that's gonna make noise but..idk, i really wanted this record to just dominate. I'm glad 500 million people have access to it, but it'd be nice to know how many kept it a week later

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Personally I think some of the songs scream radio play


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[lemonfly]

Trying to gauge the "success" of SOI won't be a conventional matter, that's for sure. It's almost guaranteed to be one of the lowest selling U2 albums ever, but when it's been given away free a month in advance, it makes it immune from any "U2 sales declining" kind of talk. SOI is a massive promotional tool for the tour and the next album, and to that extent I think it will succeed extraordinarily well.

 

[KUEFC09U2]

Trying to gauge the "success" of SOI won't be a conventional matter, that's for sure. It's almost guaranteed to be one of the lowest selling U2 albums ever, but when it's been given away free a month in advance, it makes it immune from any "U2 sales declining" kind of talk. SOI is a massive promotional tool for the tour and the next album, and to that extent I think it will succeed extraordinarily well.

I think they definitely have the next album in mind already


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[rennowba]

Well hasnt it sold over half a billion already cause its in everybodys libary biggest selling album ever

 

[SpiralStaircase]

I heard some people are complaining that it's been put in their library without their consent - it IS a bit of a precedent, but hardly a violation of privacy or whatever, and not difficult to delete if you don't want it.

 

[lemonfly]

Well hasnt it sold over half a billion already cause its in everybodys libary biggest selling album ever

I literally can't wait for Bono to start saying "Half a billion people have heard our album!!!" He just won't be able to resist

 

[Beautifulday93]

I kinda feel like this is the "warm up". It's an amazing album, but I think they're planning on making the big bucks with the quick follow up. Apple paid them for it, so money was made either way.

Absolutely. This album is just a teaser and to get the u2 band into everyones mind through apple. I think maybe a single in October and then an album around end of november/early december.

 

[Afliktor]

I heard some people are complaining that it's been put in their library without their consent - it IS a bit of a precedent, but hardly a violation of privacy or whatever, and not difficult to delete if you don't want it.

lol yeah i do tech support for apple and people were getting calls that were basically just "why is U2 showing up in my library??"

Who complains about free music, really

I agree with owl - I don't think they give a shit about sales at this point. They get that in the internet age, it's not about sales but exposure. Imagine if Pop had been released this way

 

[prbiker15]

I'm guessing with this album they are measuring success a little differently & some would say accordingly.

Sounds like they just want to get it out there.

I agree - the album's not eligible for Grammys or the Billboard charts, which is what we would usually expect for whenever U2 release an album. Good for them to change it up and not follow the traditional route.

 

[2861U2]

People are exploring their prior work. On iTunes as of right now, under the "Top Albums":

Joshua Tree at 76
U218 at 91
ATYCLB at 165
1980-1990 at 190
Rattle and Hum at 193

 

[JTbaby]

People are exploring their prior work. On iTunes as of right now, under the "Top Albums":

Joshua Tree at 76
U218 at 91
ATYCLB at 165
1980-1990 at 190
Rattle and Hum at 193

And this is exactly why Crapple paid U2 whatever they paid. Back catalog sales.

 

[prbiker15]

And this is exactly why Crapple paid U2 whatever they paid. Back catalog sales.

A brilliant move, in my opinion.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

It will be their worst selling ever, but that was pretty much a foregone conclusion given the current state of the industry, the band's lack of big hits lately and the fact that they've given it out for free.

That said, No Line still sold around a million copies in the United States alone, most of them physical. The fan base skews older and is the group still most likely to purchase an album, so I imagine the first week sales will still be in the hundreds of thousands here (I'll say just over 200K).

Looking over at Media Traffic, only about 40 albums managed to surpass one million in sales in 2013 worldwide. No Line itself sold about 4 million copies, including 3.5 million within the first year (although there's bullshit figures from the band's camp that try to pretend it's as high as 6 million), so the tour and everything else should probably be enough to get this record to about 1.5 million. If they hadn't cooled off demand with the Apple promotion, it probably could have landed another million.

 

[powerhour24]

The industry is so fragmented these days and streaming is taking over, and U2's demographics skew older as mentioned above. Regardless of total sales I bet they still get to #1 on debut in October.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Well, that's a safe bet. Unless your album is launching the same week as some other titan, you can secure the top spot nowadays with 100K in sales. Key indie bands are now earning #1 albums, even.

 

[waynetravis]

And this is exactly why Crapple paid U2 whatever they paid. Back catalog sales.

iTunes are offering the back catalog at a discount price!

 

[U2BROTHR]

people are exploring their prior work. On itunes as of right now, under the "top albums":

Joshua tree at 76
u218 at 91
atyclb at 165
1980-1990 at 190
rattle and hum at 193

this!

 

[madonna's child]

People are exploring their prior work. On iTunes as of right now, under the "Top Albums":

Joshua Tree at 76
U218 at 91
ATYCLB at 165
1980-1990 at 190
Rattle and Hum at 193

that's awesome, but I can't believe people are downloading Rattle and Hum but not Achtung, Baby

 

[Niceman]

The album is a brilliant promotional move for the back catalog, the next album, and most importantly the TOUR!

But don't forget that the album next month will have 2 new songs, 2 new versions of songs, plus a selection of acoustic tracks, AND the LP will have an bonus track. If people get into the album, there is a very real way to upgrade.

Yes, it will be the worst selling U2 album ever, from a traditional standpoint. But it will do more for them financially than anything they've done in a long time.

 

[doctorwho]

Trying to gauge the "success" of SOI won't be a conventional matter, that's for sure. It's almost guaranteed to be one of the lowest selling U2 albums ever, but when it's been given away free a month in advance, it makes it immune from any "U2 sales declining" kind of talk. SOI is a massive promotional tool for the tour and the next album, and to that extent I think it will succeed extraordinarily well.

The funny thing about that whole "U2 sales declining" aspect is that the author failed to go further back.

Looking at sales, yes, ATYCLB>HTDAAB>>NLOTH.

However, NLOTH is still a Platinum selling album in the U.S. That used to be considered a great thing, but apparently when one is U2, it's a disappointment.

But let's go further back. Per Soundscan, Pop sold 1.5M in the U.S. and Zooropa sold 2.3M. These albums were released before illegal downloads and Zooropa came on the heals of AB. So what gives?

Albums are not like movie sequels. Usually, sequels decline a bit in sales, but there are plenty of exceptions. And there are times when the sequel is actually better than the first story, but doesn't generate the sales. But albums are not of the same mold. A big hit song can generate a lot of sales for an album. ATYCLB rode on BD for a LOOOOOOONG time.

As for SoI, clearly this album will not "sell' well based on the fact it was given away. But the follow-up may perform well, especially if U2 can produce that big hit and/or if the tour (or SoI itself) are well received by the public.

 

[2861U2]

that's awesome, but I can't believe people are downloading Rattle and Hum but not Achtung, Baby

I know it. I looked through the list a couple times to make sure I hadn't missed it. Oh well. As long as people are listening.

An updated list:

Joshua Tree- 67
U218- 92
ATYCLB- 143
1980-1990- 180
Rattle and Hum- 188
Achtung Baby- 190 (Ahh, there it is )

 

[Afliktor]

that's awesome, but I can't believe people are downloading Rattle and Hum but not Achtung, Baby

lol

can we please all buy Pop so it becomes #1

that would be glorious

 

[IrishDawg]

The one thing I'm bummed about the current release format is that we have no idea about the public ranking of songs. I love going on iTunes, looking at an album, and sorting the songs by popularity. Usually gives a pretty good guess at future singles.

 

[prbiker15]

The one thing I'm bummed about the current release format is that we have no idea about the public ranking of songs. I love going on iTunes, looking at an album, and sorting the songs by popularity. Usually gives a pretty good guess at future singles.

I was bummed about that at first, but it just shows that it's not that important for them at the moment. We all know how infested the iTunes and Billboard charts can be (there's good music on there every now and then), as we saw with 'Invisible' and 'Ordinary Love'. I believe Beyoncé had most of her surprise album charting when it came out.

 

[Nick66]

People are exploring their prior work. On iTunes as of right now, under the "Top Albums":

Joshua Tree at 76
U218 at 91
ATYCLB at 165
1980-1990 at 190
Rattle and Hum at 193

Several of the articles on the Apple deal mentioned that a big part of it was going to be a major push in the future regarding their back catalogue