Total worldwide sales to date?

[bcrt2000]

Unless I'm a total doofus, I don't see a thread that discusses this, but does anyone know what HTDAAB's total sales are to date worldwide?

i'd also like the total sales for the other albums as well (i'm pretty sure those have been posted before but i'm not a premium member so i can't exactly search for it)

 

[beLIEve]

Earlier this week, Paul M. said or echoed that "sales are approaching 9M copies, making HTDAAB U2's fastest selling album ever and perhaps it's biggest seller ever." Paul is a blowhard, though, and we do know that total shipment (=sales) are between 8.5M and 9M. Probably closer to the former, as actual purchases are about 7.5M.

Once the tour starts, shipment should pick up.

 

[Cruisin97]

Right before tickets to the first leg of the tour went on sale, there was an article in USA Today that said HTDAAB had sold over 8 million copies worldside, so that 8.5 to 9 million figure is probably pretty accurate.

 

[lparks41]

So does anyone know how many U2 have sold worldwide total? Shouldn't it be around 100 million?

I have another question, does U2 tend to sell more internationally than in the US? Because with a lot of bands I see trends that show whatever an artist sold in the US, if you double that number thats the worldwide sales.

Although U2 seems like the kind of band that is even more famous outside the US, especially if they have already sold over 8 million in the world with how to dismantle an atomic bomb, but only ~2.6 million in the US, thats shockingly good! So im just wondering if anybody knows how many U2 has sold worldwide all together.

 

[fitz]

about 130 - 135 million (with 50 million US-sales) !

 

[ybird3k]

Id say the worldwide total is about 140 million, with 50 million from the USA.

most of U2's album sales are from outiside of the US, where as with most bands 1/2 of their sales are from the US and the other 1/2 from the rest of the world.

If only U2 were as popular in the US as they are in the rest of the world. Can't complain though, their still HUGE in America.

 

[elevation]

I think I read 180 million somewhere but I guess it was just another one of my weird and unuseful dreams....

 

[Vox02]

Boy: around 3 million

October: 3 million

War: 7-8 million

Under: 7,5 million

UF: 7-8 million

WAIA: 2 million

JT: 20/25

R&H: 12/13?

AB: 16-17

Zooropa: 7/8

Pop: 7/8

Best 80's: 13/14

ATYCLB: 11/12

Best 90's: 7?

HTDAAB: 7,5

TOTAL: around 135 million

Vox

 

[elevation]

Thank you for clearing that up

 

[edge3]

I just thought I should post the following info - from other threads - in this thread (thanks, beLIEve, for this first bit) :

Ah, nevermind about the per capita sales. The population in Argentina is 37M, and it's 59M in the UK. I do find these statistics interesting, though, so I'll list the populations of some of the major countries where we should know U2 sales for HTDAAB, or perhaps all albums, and see just where U2 is the most popular, besides Ireland, or some trends over time, etc. Maybe edge3 can help me out here?

Well, I'll do my best : here's the 25 countries that I know of so far,
with their population size as at Mid 2004 :

Key :
Country - Population - Sales of HTDAAB in that country

Australia - 19,913,144 - 250K
Austria - 8,174,762 - 50K
Belgium - 10,348,276 - 80K
Canada - 32,507,874 - 400K
Czech Republic - 10,246,178 - 20K
Denmark - 5,413,392 - 40K
Finland - 5,214,512 - 30K
France - 60,424,213 - 355K
Germany - 82,424,609 - 400K
Greece - 10,647,529 - 25K
Hungary - 10,032,375 - 10K
Ireland - 3,969,558 - 110K
Italy - 58,057,477 - 425K
Japan - 127,333,002 - 245K
Netherlands - 16,318,199 - 150K
New Zealand - 3,993,817 - 45K
Norway - 4,574,560 - 55K
Poland - 38,626,349 - 100K
Portugal - 10,524,145 - 130K
Slovenia - 2,011,473 - 9K
Spain - 40,280,780 - 200K
Sweden - 8,986,400 - 60K
Switzerland - 7,450,867 - 80K
United Kingdom - 60,270,708 - 1070000
United States - 293,027,571 - 2705000
Total sales of HTDAAB in these 25 countries, so far - 7044M

Now, I've heard Paul M. say that U2 operates in 100 markets/countries worldwide - but it must be very difficult to know what this exact figure is. So here's another 169 countries (every country in the world?) with their population size, from the same source :

Afghanistan 28,513,677
Albania 3,544,808
Algeria 32,129,324
Andorra 69,865
Angola 10,978,552
Antigua and Barbuda 68,320
Argentina 39,144,753
Armenia 2,991,360
Azerbaijan 7,868,385
Bahamas 299,697
Bahrain 677,886
Bangladesh 141,340,476
Barbados 278,289
Belarus 10,310,520
Belize 272,945
Benin 7,250,033
Bhutan 2,185,569
Bolivia 8,724,156
Bosnia and Herzegovina 4,007,608
Botswana 1,561,973
Brazil 184,101,109
Brunei 365,251
Bulgaria 7,517,973
Burkina 13,574,820
Burundi 6,231,221
Cambodia 13,363,421
Cameroon 16,063,678
Cape Verde 415,294
Central African Republic 3,742,482
Chad 9,538,544
Chile 15,823,957
China 1,298,847,624
Colombia 42,310,775
Comoros 651,901
Congo, Republic of the 2,998,040
Congo, Democratic Republic of the (formerly Zaire) 58,317,930
Costa Rica 3,956,507
Côte d'Ivoire 17,327,724
Croatia 4,496,869
Cuba 11,308,764
Cyprus 775,927
Djibouti 466,900
Dominica 69,278
Dominican Republic 8,833,634
East Timor 1,019,252
Ecuador 13,212,742
Egypt 76,117,421
El Salvador 6,587,541
Equatorial Guinea 523,051
Eritrea 4,447,307
Estonia 1,341,664
Ethiopia 67,851,281
Fiji 880,874
Gabon Libreville 267,667 1,355,246
Gambia 1,546,848
Georgia 4,693,892
Ghana 20,757,032
Grenada 89,357
Guatemala 14,280,596
Guinea 9,246,462
Guinea-Bissau 1,388,363
Guyana 705,803
Haiti 7,656,166
Honduras 6,823,568
Iceland 293,966
India 1,065,070,607
Indonesia 238,452,952
Iran 67,503,205
Iraq 25,374,691
Israel 6,199,008
Jamaica 2,713,130
Jordan 5,611,202
Kazakhstan 15,143,704
Kenya 32,021,856
Kiribati 100,798
Korea, North 22,697,553
Korea, South 48,598,175
Kuwait 2,257,549
Kyrgyzstan 5,081,429
Laos 6,068,117
Latvia 2,306,306
Lebanon 3,777,218
Lesotho 1,865,040
Liberia 3,390,635
Libya 5,631,585
Liechtenstein 33,436
Lithuania 3,607,899
Luxembourg 462,690
Macedonia 2,071,210
Madagascar 17,501,871
Malawi 11,906,855
Malaysia 23,522,482
Maldives 339,330
Mali 11,956,788
Malta 396,851
Marshall Islands 57,738
Mauritania 2,998,563
Mauritius 1,220,481
Mexico 104,959,594
Micronesia, Federated States of 108,155
Moldova 4,446,455
Monaco 32,270
Mongolia 2,751,314
Morocco 32,209,101
Mozambique 18,811,731
Myanmar (Burma) 42,720,196
Namibia 1,954,033
Nauru 12,809
Nepal 27,070,666
Nicaragua 5,359,759
Niger 11,360,538
Nigeria 137,253,133
Oman 2,903,165
Pakistan 159,196,336
Palau 20,016
Panama 3,000,463
Papua New Guinea 5,420,280
Paraguay 6,191,368
Peru 27,544,305
Philippines 86,241,697
Qatar 840,290
Romania 22,355,551
Russia 143,782,338
Rwanda 7,954,013
Saint Kitts and Nevis 38,836
Saint Lucia 164,213
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 117,193
Samoa 177,714
San Marino 28,503
São Tomé and Príncipe 181,565
Saudi Arabia 25,795,938
Senegal 10,852,147
Serbia and Montenegro 10,825,900
Seychelles 80,832
Sierra Leone 5,883,889
Singapore 4,353,893
Slovakia 5,423,567
Solomon Islands 523,617
Somalia 8,304,601
South Africa 42,718,530
Sri Lanka 19,905,165
Sudan 39,148,162
Suriname 436,935
Swaziland 1,169,241
Syria 18,016,874
Taiwan 22,749,838
Tajikistan 7,011,556
Tanzania 36,588,225
Thailand 64,865,523
Togo 5,556,812
Tonga 110,237
Trinidad and Tobago 1,096,585
Tunisia 9,974,722
Turkey 68,893,918
Turkmenistan 4,863,169
Tuvalu 11,468
Uganda 26,404,543
Ukraine 47,732,079
United Arab Emirates 2,523,915
Uruguay 3,399,237
Uzbekistan 26,410,416
Vanuatu 202,609
Vatican City 911
Venezuela 25,017,387
Vietnam 82,689,518
Western Sahara 267,405
Yemen 20,024,867
Zambia 10,462,436
Zimbabwe 12,671,860

So, this means that HTDAAB has 'officially' sold about another 1M in these 169 countries (or an average of 5917 copies in each) if we agree with the current Mediatraffic figure of about 7520M, which covers 'nearly 95%' of worldwide album sales - that's 7044M + 1M = 8044M (est.) 'officially' sold worldwide.

However, as you, beLIEve, & others, have already mentioned I would think that HTDAAB has 'unofficially' sold another 1-2M due to illegal sales & unreported sales data - so that's 8044M + 1-2M = 9-10M (est.) 'unofficially' sold in these 194 countries.

And this :

I've been doing a bit more research on the top 10 best selling bands of all time - according to album sales. You may already know that there are some really great forums on this subject at http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22680&start=0. Here's another interesting list of the All Time Best Selling Bands in USA (according to album sales) from the chart analysis forum at this site. As you can see it has been thoroughly researched by someone called Basil from Devon, England - so thank-you Basil :

Basil
Superstar


Joined: 12 Sep 2004
Posts: 182
Location: Devon England
Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 7:22 pm
Further Soundscan information including artists totals, analysis of the top selling albums, plus the best selling albums annually and per decade can be found at

http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22680&start=0

The list on the riaa website is well out of date, so I've updated it.

The riaa list includes all the extra units from muli-disc sales and EP's, so I've removed all of these to give Actual numbers of albums shipped.

The estimated totals for All albums sold per artist was achieved by examining the performance of every charted album plus many non-charting albums by all these artists. Several thousand albums in total. By combining chart information, year of release, riaa figures with dates and patterns of certification, plus soundscan figures indicating annual rates of sale since 1991, it was eventually possible to reach estimated totals for each artist.

I hope I've produced the most accurate figures possible for all time USA sales. Lots of figures you see posted around the net are inflated, or the result of wishful thinking (fans will often wish sales of their favourites up and up), or use record company hyperbole which tends to round figures up and always includes extra multi-disc sales.

Minimum sale for the list is 50 million. This is the equivalent of 100 Gold Records, so for the **11 bands making the list it is a huge achievement.

Key
Rank
Artist
(Raw) riaa totals march 2005 in millions
Actual riaa shipments - extra units from multi-disc sets and EP's removed - in millions
Estimated total of all albums sold in USA using riaa/soundscan/billboard charts - rounded to nearest million

All Time Best Selling Bands in USA
March 2005

1. The Beatles - 167.5m - 130.85m - 162,000,000
2. Led Zeppelin - 108.5m - 87.6m - 95,000,000
3. The Eagles - 89m - 83.3m - 85,000,000
4. The Rolling Stones - 64.5m - 55.25m - 78,500,000
5. Pink Floyd - 73.5m - 57.13m - 70,000,000
6. Aerosmith - 65.5m - 62.63m - 69,000,000
7. AC/DC - 64m - 62.2m - 66,000,000
8 = Van Halen - 56.5m - 55m - 56,000,000
8 = U2 - 52m - 49m - 56,000,000
8 = Fleetwood Mac - 48.5m - 48.5m - 56,000,000
9. Metallica - 57m - 52m - 54,000,000

**List originally comprised of the 27 best selling artists (U2 came in at #21) so I edited it into the best selling bands. These are the 11 bands that made the list - in the correct order

Also, here's my newly revised list of the Top 10 biggest selling bands of all time - according to their most frequently quoted/estimated overall album sales :

1. The Beatles 450M
2. Abba 250M
3. Led Zep 200M
4. Pink Floyd 180M
5. The Stones 150M
6. The Eagles 145M
7. = U2 140M
7. = AC/DC 140M
8. Queen 135M
9. Bee Gees 120M
10. Fleetwood Mac 110M

And this (thanks STING2) :

I estimate U2's total global album sales as of May 2005 are 148 million worldwide. I know about the often reported 130 million figure, but I think it is an under estimate of total sales.

Before the release of POP in March 1997, I estimate U2 had sold about 88 million albums worldwide. This would mean that since that time they have sold another 60 million albums worldwide.

There may be a few artist who have sold more albums than U2 since 1997, but I'm not sure and I'll have to research that more. The Rolling Stones are the only artist that has had more concert success than U2 since 1997. But, no artist has had as much concert success and album sales combined as U2 since March 1997.

And this (thanks 04072511) :

There is absolutely no way Abba have sold 350 Million.

Id put U2 at 146 Million now:
Boy - 3 Million
October - 3 Milllion
WAR - 8 M
UABRS - 8 M
UF - 8 M
WAIA - 3 M
JT - 27 M
RAH - 14 M
AB - 17 M
Zooropa - 7 M
Pop - 6 M
1980-1990 - 16 M
ATYCLB - 12 M
1990-2000 - 5 M
HTDAAB - 9 M

I predict that the beatles have sold no more than 400 Million. 500 M seems a bit high.

And, finally, this :

These sales figures for JT, AB & Best of 80-90 means that U2's overall worldwide sales should now look something like this :

Boy - 3M
October - 3M
War - 8M
UABRS - 8M
UF - 8M
WAIA - 2M
JT - 27M
R&H - 14M
AB - 17M
Zooropa - 8M
Pop - 6M
Best of 80-90 - 16M
ATYCLB - 12M
Best of 90-00 - 4M
HTDAAB - 8M
Total = 144M

I believe that's now more than AC/DC's overall total. I am now fairly certain that The Beatles are probably the only band/group to have sold more albums than U2 since 1980.

I could go on but that'll take forever : so, for now, that's all folks!

 

[mikeuk]

I just thought I should post the following info - from other threads - in this thread (thanks, beLIEve, for this first bit) :




And this :



And this (thanks STING2) :



And this (thanks 04072511) :



And, finally, this :



I could go on but that'll take forever : so, for now, that's all folks!

The figure for JT is soooo over-stated !!! When Bomb was released U2 did a show at their studios which BBC radio 1 covered and promoted. The Q's to win tickets to this performance included Q's about sales of U2's albums (informed by the record company) - e.g.


ATYCLB - Q sales to nearest million A 14 million - therefore 13.5 m shipped !


J Tree- ditto - A 21 million


Until such time that the record company issue alternative/updated figures then I go with the BBC.

Mike

 

[STING2]

The figure for JT is soooo over-stated !!! When Bomb was released U2 did a show at their studios which BBC radio 1 covered and promoted. The Q's to win tickets to this performance included Q's about sales of U2's albums (informed by the record company) - e.g.


ATYCLB - Q sales to nearest million A 14 million - therefore 13.5 m shipped !


J Tree- ditto - A 21 million


Until such time that the record company issue alternative/updated figures then I go with the BBC.

Mike

It is a FACT, that Joshua Tree has reached the 10 million mark in the USA in September of 1995(RIAA confirmed figure). It reached the 1.8 million mark in the UK in June of 1992(BPI confirmed figure). The 1 million mark in Canada in October of 1987(CRIA confirmed figure)!

As of 2005, the album has sold 15 million copies combined in just 3 countries, the USA, Canada and United Kingdom.

Another way of looking at it is that the record company reported that the album had sold 14 million copies worldwide by the end of December 1987! Joshua Tree sold another 6 million copies in just the USA from December 1987 to September 1995! Without adding in sales outside the United States since 1987, the figure by 1995 was already 20 million+!

Joshua Tree was a massive hit all over the world and has continued to be the bands strongest catalog seller year after year with the exception of the Best of. Worldwide sales of 27 million is likely an underestimate of the total sales worldwide for Joshua Tree.

Oh and the figure for ATYCLB is not more than 12 million based on the certifications the album has recieved from RIAA, IFPI, CRIA and other organzations around the world.

 

[edge3]

Here's my current estimated sales figures for JT based on info that I've read / heard about over the years :

US - 10.5M (certified 10M in Sept 1995 so could well be 11M+ by now)
UK - 2.3M (certified 1.8M in March 1992 - but 2M by Jan 1998 + 100K min. sold in 2001 + 30K per year in other 6 years)
France - 2M (#1 for 20 weeks)
Canada - 1.5M (certified for 1M 6 months after release)
Germany - 1.5M (certified for 1.2M ages ago)
Italy - 700K (350K sold in 1987 - someone recently said 1M at ukmix.com but I'm not so sure)
Spain - 500K (340K sold by 1990)
Australia - 400K (certified for 350K ages ago)
Japan - 300K
Total = 19,700,000 from these 9 countries + 5-7M from *ROW is very likely.

*ROW includes about another 92 countries / markets around the whole - inc. whole of South & Central America where U2 have been pretty big since 1987.

PS - I think the record company have got more important things to worry about than working out the exact sales to date of JT - a difficult enough task in itself as JT was released pre-IFPI. So, it is left up to us dedicated chart watchers at Intereference to come up with an accurate up to date figure - obviously, we just have to be/remain as objective as possible when working this out.

 

[edge3]

Also : if we take the current, 'official', sales figures from these 9 countries for HTDAAB - about 6M - then they make up about 75% of it's, 'official', total worldwide sales to date of about 8M. Now this is almost exactly the same as JT if JT has sold 27M - 75% of 27M = 20M - almost exactly the same as my total estimated figure of 19.7M!

So, doesn't this kind of prove that JT HAS sold 25-27M?

 

[STING2]

Also : if we take the current, 'official', sales figures from these 9 countries for HTDAAB - about 6M - then they make up about 75% of it's, 'official', total worldwide sales to date of about 8M. Now this is almost exactly the same as JT if JT has sold 27M - 75% of 27M = 20M - almost exactly the same as my total estimated figure of 19.7M!

So, doesn't this kind of prove that JT HAS sold 25-27M?

At the very least, yes. I actually think the German, Italian and Spanish figures for JT are even higher. I'm sure the album is near double diamond in Canada as well. Canadian sales for many of U2's albums have often had figures that were double that of US sales per capita.

 

[ybird3k]

I dont see a thread to discuss this anywhere, but U2 are set to re-record Pop!

http://www.breakingnews.ie/2005/05/24/story204031.html