Week 32

[STING2]

They could market tthe hell out of it in the US and it wouldnt show much difference in sales. ATYCLB was U2s most marketed album in the US and it also had Grammy awards to boost its sales and it still didnt do that spectacular compaired to past albums.

There is a few things to blame for this....

1. Not as many people go out and buy commercial CDs anymore and that is a fact.

2. U2s fanbase in the US is smaller but still very dedicated.

3. It is harder for U2 to attract new fans these days due to their advanced age, comparitively to other artists that chart well.

Actually, ATYCLB was one of the stronger sellers back in 2000-2002 in the USA. U2's fan base in the USA is nearly as strong as it was during Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Remember that after two years of release, each of those albums had hit the 5 million mark. ATYCLB was at the 4 million mark within two years of release, and its likely that BOMB will hit a little over 3 million by the 2 year mark. On the concert scene, the band probably should have booked stadiums for this tour when one sees the massive demand for the arena shows.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

I'm not surprised by the poor success of the singles here and the album's quick fall from the charts.........

1 - The "Vertigo" ad annoyed the hell out of people who watch television all of the time, making them sick of a great song.

2 - In turn the ad led to those same tv viewers posting "U@ is SHITE!!" reviews on Amazon and have helped add to a negative image of the band. The iPod commercial was successful in that it mobilized the fans and told them that an album was coming, but these same people probably would've bought it anyway....instead, there were more buying it sooner.

3 - "All Because Of You" came far too soon....especially since it sounds most like "Vertigo"........they should've waited a tad for the former song to fade away as it was a huge airplay magnet for months.

4 - With such strict radio formats in the US, "Sometimes" and "City" just didn't have a chance on most stations.......no luck in becoming sizable hits.

5 - This band should've undoubtedly played a stadium tour from the onset as Sting2 pointed out.........there was enough demand for it and it really could've helped album sales.

6 - Piracy continues to grow in the United States, but I don't think it had too much of an impact on people that bought ATYCLB......most folks that did skewed older in age, so they're mostly not up on the whole CD burning thing, anyway........it's the new fans that have got into the band through "Vertigo" and such that have downloaded the album rather than bought it.....

7 - The US may have the smallest per capita fanbase of U2 fans........too many rock fans here are into the heavy metal scene, which isn't as big elsewhere....they think of U2 as a "wimp band".......it still shocks me that Bono is always thanking the US.......yes, we do the biggest part in making the band rich/famous, but we also have the lowest percentage of U2 fans......

 

[fitz]

Coldplay's XY in week 4 (media traffic): 451.000
Bomb week 4: 820.000

4:0 for the Bomb

 

[jimmmm]

Actually, ATYCLB was one of the stronger sellers back in 2000-2002 in the USA. U2's fan base in the USA is nearly as strong as it was during Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Remember that after two years of release, each of those albums had hit the 5 million mark. ATYCLB was at the 4 million mark within two years of release, and its likely that BOMB will hit a little over 3 million by the 2 year mark. On the concert scene, the band probably should have booked stadiums for this tour when one sees the massive demand for the arena shows.

another reason could be the amount of people on this message board, supposedly U2 fans, who've ripped the album to shreds, with their constant whinging,"U2 just aren't as good as they were, blah, blah, blah" Any non U2 fan who might be browsing through the pages would probably think, if hardcore U2 fans think the albums that bad i'll not bother with it, just a thought!

 

[STING2]

I'm not surprised by the poor success of the singles here and the album's quick fall from the charts.........

1 - The "Vertigo" ad annoyed the hell out of people who watch television all of the time, making them sick of a great song.

2 - In turn the ad led to those same tv viewers posting "U@ is SHITE!!" reviews on Amazon and have helped add to a negative image of the band. The iPod commercial was successful in that it mobilized the fans and told them that an album was coming, but these same people probably would've bought it anyway....instead, there were more buying it sooner.

3 - "All Because Of You" came far too soon....especially since it sounds most like "Vertigo"........they should've waited a tad for the former song to fade away as it was a huge airplay magnet for months.

4 - With such strict radio formats in the US, "Sometimes" and "City" just didn't have a chance on most stations.......no luck in becoming sizable hits.

5 - This band should've undoubtedly played a stadium tour from the onset as Sting2 pointed out.........there was enough demand for it and it really could've helped album sales.

6 - Piracy continues to grow in the United States, but I don't think it had too much of an impact on people that bought ATYCLB......most folks that did skewed older in age, so they're mostly not up on the whole CD burning thing, anyway........it's the new fans that have got into the band through "Vertigo" and such that have downloaded the album rather than bought it.....

7 - The US may have the smallest per capita fanbase of U2 fans........too many rock fans here are into the heavy metal scene, which isn't as big elsewhere....they think of U2 as a "wimp band".......it still shocks me that Bono is always thanking the US.......yes, we do the biggest part in making the band rich/famous, but we also have the lowest percentage of U2 fans......

Actually, countries like Germany and Japan have lower percentage of U2 fans than the United States. But most European countries do tend to have a higher percentage. South America sort of goes up and down. So far U2's per capita sales of BOMB in the USA are higher than most South American countries.

 

[fedeu2]

That´s right Sting2, but remember that here, in South America, nearly all countries are poor, i.e., few people (in relative terms) are able to spend money on albums.
U2 are very popular at least in Argentina and Brazil, I would say they´re even more popular than the Stones for example, definitely in Brazil. Remember that back in 1998 during the Popmart tour, over half a million people saw U2 in South America in just seven concerts.

If per capita income in Brazil was similar to that of the States, we would see HTDAAB´s sales easily surpassing 1 million.

Actually, countries like Germany and Japan have lower percentage of U2 fans than the United States. But most European countries do tend to have a higher percentage. South America sort of goes up and down. So far U2's per capita sales of BOMB in the USA are higher than most South American countries.

 

[LeafsNation]

I'm not surprised by the poor success of the singles here and the album's quick fall from the charts.........

1 - The "Vertigo" ad annoyed the hell out of people who watch television all of the time, making them sick of a great song.

2 - In turn the ad led to those same tv viewers posting "U@ is SHITE!!" reviews on Amazon and have helped add to a negative image of the band. The iPod commercial was successful in that it mobilized the fans and told them that an album was coming, but these same people probably would've bought it anyway....instead, there were more buying it sooner.

3 - "All Because Of You" came far too soon....especially since it sounds most like "Vertigo"........they should've waited a tad for the former song to fade away as it was a huge airplay magnet for months.

4 - With such strict radio formats in the US, "Sometimes" and "City" just didn't have a chance on most stations.......no luck in becoming sizable hits.

5 - This band should've undoubtedly played a stadium tour from the onset as Sting2 pointed out.........there was enough demand for it and it really could've helped album sales.

6 - Piracy continues to grow in the United States, but I don't think it had too much of an impact on people that bought ATYCLB......most folks that did skewed older in age, so they're mostly not up on the whole CD burning thing, anyway........it's the new fans that have got into the band through "Vertigo" and such that have downloaded the album rather than bought it.....

7 - The US may have the smallest per capita fanbase of U2 fans........too many rock fans here are into the heavy metal scene, which isn't as big elsewhere....they think of U2 as a "wimp band".......it still shocks me that Bono is always thanking the US.......yes, we do the biggest part in making the band rich/famous, but we also have the lowest percentage of U2 fans......

Agree with #6, disagree with # 7. It's the Pop and Hip Hop that dominates the US market not Metal right now. Morevoer, I live in Canada but there are similarities between our countries' music scenes (though we're still more like Europe). Most fans of "Rock" like myself like everything from Metallica, Audioslave, AIC, and LInkin Park to U2, the Clash and Coldplay.... On most Alternative and Mixed Rock radio formats (like here ine Ottawa, you can hear these bands together back to back.