vaz02
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
600,000 in 2002 sounds like a dud to me. Also you can not compare Wilco to u2 on scale.
NLOTH Week 2
- Thread starter Irishteen
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
CosmoKramer
Rock n' Roll Doggie
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If Im not mistaken, HTDAAB went triple(3x) platinum in 4 weeks. Granted the time of year but regardless, thats pretty amazing.
GibsonExplorer
War Child
talk about lowering expectations...
doctorwho
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
My point is that this article, right or wrong, considered that a commercial success.
U2 sells over that in 2 weeks, and it's a flop.
My point is that this article, right or wrong, considered that a commercial success.
U2 sells over that in 2 weeks, and it's a flop.
doctorwho
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Per the RIAA website, you are correct. For some reason, I thought it paused at 2x Platinum first. But it was certified as 3x Platinum on Dec. 17, 2004 - the same day it received its Gold and Platinum awards.
Of course, it took a lot longer for it to reach actual consumer sales of 3M, but eventually HTDAAB surpassed that level too.
Holiday sales - a good thing.
DarkAcrobat
The Fly
I still keep my high expectations to see you going out of here...
Maoilbheannacht
Refugee
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No one has lowered expections about how U2 will do relative to other albums in 2009. Its highly likely "No Line On The Horizon" will be one of the top 10 selling albums of the year in the USA and worldwide in 2009, just as Achtung Baby was in 1992, Joshua Tree was in 1987, and HTDAAB was in 2005!
OP
OP
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
150k would not be bad at all, it'd be pretty healthy sales for 2009
fitz
Acrobat
In Germany down from #1 to #2.
Native_Son
Acrobat
im not sure if we can assume that KOL sales are from winning the awards. the very reason they won the awards in the first place was that the singles were MASSIVE hits. 'Sex on fire' has been in the top 40 for about 6 months and the same goes for 'use somebody'. nearly every person in the country would have heard these songs by now, i've been considering buying the album for many months and possibly will at somepoint, just on the strength of those 2 singles.
Vertigo kept bomb selling for many months, it was still #1 in the download charts in Jan 05, and had decent airplay even when 'sometimes' was #1 in february. in my opinion singles are more important than anything else in terms of sales, even if it hurts to say it - more important than the quality of the album as a whole.
powerhour24
ONE love, blood, life
Its so weird how popular KOL is in the UK in comparison to the US.
CosmoKramer
Rock n' Roll Doggie
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Per hits, 2nd week in the USA was at 124,000, which is a drop of nearly 75%. That is a massive drop, one that is really startling. 
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Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
Per hits, 2nd week in the USA was at 124,000, which is a drop of nearly 75%. That is a massive drop, one that is really startling.
That's awful, sales are lower than expected that means they're dropping faster than expected...not good. Hopefully it stabilises
Native_Son
Acrobat
i was wishful thinking that as initial first week sales were smaller due to not being at xmas time, that drops would not be so big. but this is really alarming. but if it wasnt for the new entires they would still be at #1, and kelly clarkson will be facing ahuge drop next week, its just the way things are.
This weeks NLOTH sales of ~ 44,000 in the UK is staggering when considered that HTDAAB sold ~ 35,000 in the first week of january! 2005, which was its 6th week and it had already accumulated sales close on 900,000 by that point.
This weeks NLOTH sales of ~ 44,000 in the UK is staggering when considered that HTDAAB sold ~ 35,000 in the first week of january! 2005, which was its 6th week and it had already accumulated sales close on 900,000 by that point.
doctorwho
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Yes, that is a big drop. But...
I recall back in '97, I would state that, on average, the #10 album would have sales close to 100K (in some weeks, it would dip to 80K). The #20 album would have sales of 50K on average and the #50 album would have sales of 20K on average. And this was in the March-May timeframe when "Pop" was released.
Look at HITS now. #10 has sales of just 27K (not 100K). The #20 album has sales of #17K and the #50 album has sales of just 10K.
So while NLOTH may see some additional drops, any type of hit song will most likely keep the album stable between 10-30K (spikes will occur for various reasons) for a while, meaning it should linger in the Top 50 for a while, despite soft sales. I'm sure Clarkson will see the same.
It's a shame to see music sales drop this low.
But I also see the economy at work here. Even big movies are dropping huge in their second weeks. People are hesitant to spend.
I recall back in '97, I would state that, on average, the #10 album would have sales close to 100K (in some weeks, it would dip to 80K). The #20 album would have sales of 50K on average and the #50 album would have sales of 20K on average. And this was in the March-May timeframe when "Pop" was released.
Look at HITS now. #10 has sales of just 27K (not 100K). The #20 album has sales of #17K and the #50 album has sales of just 10K.
So while NLOTH may see some additional drops, any type of hit song will most likely keep the album stable between 10-30K (spikes will occur for various reasons) for a while, meaning it should linger in the Top 50 for a while, despite soft sales. I'm sure Clarkson will see the same.
It's a shame to see music sales drop this low.
But I also see the economy at work here. Even big movies are dropping huge in their second weeks. People are hesitant to spend.
OP
OP
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
I think it's more Boots didn't get casual fans interested so only big fans have bought the album so far, a strong single to draw casual fans in should stabilise the album. U2 have enough casual fans to have a big album, Boots just wasn't the right first single to get them
Yes, that is a big drop. But...
I recall back in '97, I would state that, on average, the #10 album would have sales close to 100K (in some weeks, it would dip to 80K). The #20 album would have sales of 50K on average and the #50 album would have sales of 20K on average. And this was in the March-May timeframe when "Pop" was released.
Look at HITS now. #10 has sales of just 27K (not 100K). The #20 album has sales of #17K and the #50 album has sales of just 10K.
So while NLOTH may see some additional drops, any type of hit song will most likely keep the album stable between 10-30K (spikes will occur for various reasons) for a while, meaning it should linger in the Top 50 for a while, despite soft sales. I'm sure Clarkson will see the same.
It's a shame to see music sales drop this low.
But I also see the economy at work here. Even big movies are dropping huge in their second weeks. People are hesitant to spend.
You scoffed when I predicted it would sell 150k in week 2. I think it has a lot to do with U2 and not just the external factors. U2 are old. Unless they can convince people otherwise with a top 40-type hit, only the hardcore fans are going to buy NLOTH - which means it will continue to drop rapidly. Other bands around their age (R.E.M., The Cure, Depeche Mode) see similar chart trends. They don't get much (if any) mainstream airplay anymore, so after the hardcore fans scoop up the album in the first couple weeks, there's no one left to buy it. Kelly Clarkson will not drop 75% next week because her songs are all over the radio, gaining new fans.
Clean187
The Fly
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Wow, not even looking at the total sales, just that drop off percentage is very concerning...no really good way to spin that into any sort of positive.
I think the economy is sort of a weak excuse, though. I mean, if people REALLY wanted it, it was on Amazon for 4 bucks for a week. And January/Februrary had a record number of hits at the box office in North America. The only movies experiencing HUGE drops are Sci-Fi/horror movies, which always do anyway.
I think the economy is sort of a weak excuse, though. I mean, if people REALLY wanted it, it was on Amazon for 4 bucks for a week. And January/Februrary had a record number of hits at the box office in North America. The only movies experiencing HUGE drops are Sci-Fi/horror movies, which always do anyway.
OP
OP
Irishteen
Blue Crack Addict
U2 are nowhere near REM or the Cure's level of popularity, they're still twenty times bigger. New U2 is actually something that gets attention, new Cure or REM just means a tour for most people. Although a couple more albums with NLOTH reception and they'd be in a similar place
I think this quote from hits says it all really, but yes everyone carry on blaming U2 saying how poor it is etc etc, even though its obviously an industry wide problem and not just a U2 problem:
"Last week’s chart-topper, U2’s Interscope album, No Line on the Horizon, dipped to 125k, good for #3, giving the Top 10 a trio of six-figure sales albums for the first time this year."
so this is the first time THIS YEAR that the whole chart has had 3 groups selling more than 100k.
"Last week’s chart-topper, U2’s Interscope album, No Line on the Horizon, dipped to 125k, good for #3, giving the Top 10 a trio of six-figure sales albums for the first time this year."
so this is the first time THIS YEAR that the whole chart has had 3 groups selling more than 100k.
Clean187
The Fly
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I'm not sure understand your point 100%. What does the 3 albums in the same week selling over 100,000 have anything to do with what we're discussing?
If you look at how albums sell, even in today's climate, a 75% drop is an EXTRAORDINARILY high figure. It wouldn't matter if it sold 1 millon, then dropped to 250,000. That sort of drop off shows the consumer has a lack of interest in the product U2 are putting out right now. As a U2 fan, I find that interesting and concerning.
I didn't mean to suggest that those other bands were as popular. I meant that NLOTH appears to be following their albums' patterns in terms of percentage drops. Maybe new U2 is now perceived the same as new Cure or new R.E.M. in that only the die-hards care about anything new from them.
Ok, last week U2 sold over DOUBLE of what Kelly Clarkson sold in her first week, now say the "hardcore" U2 fans bought it the first week, surley that would mean the second week the more "causal" U2 fans will be picking it up? i mean its highly unlikely we will see it run at 125k for the next few weeks, but whose to say it wont stabalise?, meaning it would be pretty much doing average on the charts.
i mean can we even talk about "patterns" yet? the albums only been out 2 weeks, and we only have 2 sets of chart data to compare against.
Clean187
The Fly
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Ok, now I see what you're saying.
It very well could stabilize. It certainly won't drop another 75%.
But I think you can already start talking about patterns, because, in a lot of ways, the second week of sales is more telling than the first. It shows word of mouth, interest that the more casual fan is showing, etc..
It's much more telling of an album's long term prospects, barring a resurgence by a huge hit.
From here on out, it should drop, I don't know, 20-30% per week?
Thats possible but i can honestly see it hovering around the 50k-100k between now and the end of the tour, Magnificent is gathering airplay accoring the to charts on the other thread,
Who knows, unfortunatley though album sales are pretty bad now, which imo is a real shame, i mean as drwho said there could always be one exeption but there needs to be alot going for it if thats to happen, the itunes culture is now here, and many of the younger crowd just dont have the patience to sit and listen to a full album, as is really reflected in even Kelly Clarksons first week sales, you would think the younger crowd would be all over her album first week, but she has sold under half of what U2 did first week. but yet her singles are doing very well!.
cjboog
Refugee
US Results in from Hits Daily Double
Kelly Clarkson 254,000
The Dream 148,000
U2 125,000
Remember that last week HDD was slightly low so the Billboard number might be a little bigger than this. Still. Like a 74% drop.
Kelly Clarkson 254,000
The Dream 148,000
U2 125,000
Remember that last week HDD was slightly low so the Billboard number might be a little bigger than this. Still. Like a 74% drop.
doctorwho
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
I don't scoff.
I disagreed.
And you were correct.
I anticipated more of a 50-60% drop. This was based on what Springsteen's album did this year. As Springsteen is a contemporary and his album was released just a month earlier, I felt that was a good comparison. I even went to 60%, as I felt that was a huge drop.
Despite the drop, I remain adamant that NLOTH will not "disappear". Springsteen's album is still in the Top 50. And U2 have yet to have other songs really break out (they are slower gainers - like "Beautiful Day"). So a slow building hit combined with a tour should keep the album steady.
It will be interesting to see what Clarkson does next week. I'm not predicting a 75% drop either - but then, her album sold about half as many copies, so...
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