Week 8
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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.
fedeu2
War Child
The thing is you said exactly the same when ATYCLB was released. May I remind you of that post entitled "The fall to nothingness has just begun" or something along those lines you wrote in 2000 the second week of sales when ATYCLB slided down both in USA and UK?
Well, we all know now you were completely wrong at the time.
This time you couldn´t say the same thing right from the beginning given the amazingly high sales the album has experienced along the holidays season.
But now that sales are getting a bit slow you raise to the occasion again.
In fact, you are always waiting for U2 to fail to come out and say: "See, I told you".
You may have a good reputation in this forum, I don´t know about that. But people here hardly know you.
Anyone who asked on the Wire list (wire-u2 currently on the yahoo groups) would receive hardly good words about you.
This is my last post on the matter. As someone said before, it´s not worth responding to your posts.
F.
Well, we all know now you were completely wrong at the time.
This time you couldn´t say the same thing right from the beginning given the amazingly high sales the album has experienced along the holidays season.
But now that sales are getting a bit slow you raise to the occasion again.
In fact, you are always waiting for U2 to fail to come out and say: "See, I told you".
You may have a good reputation in this forum, I don´t know about that. But people here hardly know you.
Anyone who asked on the Wire list (wire-u2 currently on the yahoo groups) would receive hardly good words about you.
This is my last post on the matter. As someone said before, it´s not worth responding to your posts.
F.
jick said:
neutral
genius of compression, Forum Moderator
fedeu2 said:
Jick has been a member here since August 2002, we know him.
fedeu2 said:
If you feel that his posts are not worth responding to, then I suggest just not responding or putting him on your ignore list. There's no need for name calling, or for threads in here to get personal.
malhithearnaz
The Fly
Green Day's 'Idiot' Hangs Onto No. 1
Green Day leads a slowly recovering Billboard 200 this week as "American Idiot" extends its return stay at No. 1 to a second consecutive and third overall week. With a .3% raise to 100,000 U.S. copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the Reprise set is one of only two top 10 albums that saw a sales gain, though the average decline for top titles was up from 30-50% to 5-25% this week.
The only other sales gainer in the upper echelon was Shania Twain's Mercury Nashville greatest hits compilation, which bolts 7-3 on an 8% increase to 74,000. In between the two is Eminem's "Encore" (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), which remains at No. 2 for a second week despite a 16% slide to 84,000 units.
A slight 2% fall to 73,000 copies is enough to secure John Legend's place at No. 4 for a second week with "Get Lifted" (Sony Urban Music/Columbia), while a 13% decrease to 70,000 sends Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz's "Crunk Juice" (TVT) down two positions to No. 5.
Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" (RCA) is bolstered 6-10 despite a 10% slump to 60,000 and Usher also gets a boost despite a 17% slope for "Confessions" (LaFace/Zomba), which gains 9-7 on 56,000 copies. "MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups Presents Jay-Z and Linkin Park: Collision Course" (Machine Shop/Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) is steady at No. 8 for a second week with 56,000, off 18% from the previous week.
Ludacris' former No. 1, "Red Light District" (Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam South), falls 5-9 on sales of 55,000, while the 17th installment of "NOW That's What I Call Music!" (Sony BMG/Universal/EMI/Zomba/Capitol) moves up one despite a 15% decline to 53,000 units to close out the top 10.
The soundtrack to the weekend's top-grossing movie is the Billboard 200's top debut this week, as Capitol's "Coach Carter" set enters at No. 31 with 29,000 copies. The set features Hot 100 favorites like Chingy, Twista, the Game, Ciara and Kanye West. Wind-Up's "Elektra: The Album," featuring Jet, Taking Back Sunday and Alter Bridge, bows at No. 62 on the strength of 14,000 units.
Also debuting are Donny Osmond's "What I Meant To Say" (Decca, No. 137), Madeleine Peyroux's "Careless Love" (Rounder, No. 168), the compilation "15 Duranguenses De Corazon" (Disa, No. 176), the "Napoleon Dynamite" soundtrack (Lakeshore, No. 181), the compilation "Parranda Tequilera 2005" (Univision Music Group, No. 184) and "Baby Einstein: Lullaby Classics" (Buena Vista, No. 191).
With an 83% spike to 22,000, Celine Dion's "Miracle" (Epic) far surpasses the sales gain of any other act on The Billboard 200 and rebounds 90-36. A rerun of the Canadian songstress' appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" fueled the charge for the photo/lullaby collaboration with Anne Geddes, which originally bowed at No. 4 in October 2004.
Overall U.S. album sales were down 9.5% from the previous week at 9.6 million units and 8.6% lower than the same week last year. In the second full week of sales for 2005, year-to-date sales of 20.3 million units are down 20% from 2004.
Green Day leads a slowly recovering Billboard 200 this week as "American Idiot" extends its return stay at No. 1 to a second consecutive and third overall week. With a .3% raise to 100,000 U.S. copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the Reprise set is one of only two top 10 albums that saw a sales gain, though the average decline for top titles was up from 30-50% to 5-25% this week.
The only other sales gainer in the upper echelon was Shania Twain's Mercury Nashville greatest hits compilation, which bolts 7-3 on an 8% increase to 74,000. In between the two is Eminem's "Encore" (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), which remains at No. 2 for a second week despite a 16% slide to 84,000 units.
A slight 2% fall to 73,000 copies is enough to secure John Legend's place at No. 4 for a second week with "Get Lifted" (Sony Urban Music/Columbia), while a 13% decrease to 70,000 sends Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz's "Crunk Juice" (TVT) down two positions to No. 5.
Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" (RCA) is bolstered 6-10 despite a 10% slump to 60,000 and Usher also gets a boost despite a 17% slope for "Confessions" (LaFace/Zomba), which gains 9-7 on 56,000 copies. "MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups Presents Jay-Z and Linkin Park: Collision Course" (Machine Shop/Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) is steady at No. 8 for a second week with 56,000, off 18% from the previous week.
Ludacris' former No. 1, "Red Light District" (Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam South), falls 5-9 on sales of 55,000, while the 17th installment of "NOW That's What I Call Music!" (Sony BMG/Universal/EMI/Zomba/Capitol) moves up one despite a 15% decline to 53,000 units to close out the top 10.
The soundtrack to the weekend's top-grossing movie is the Billboard 200's top debut this week, as Capitol's "Coach Carter" set enters at No. 31 with 29,000 copies. The set features Hot 100 favorites like Chingy, Twista, the Game, Ciara and Kanye West. Wind-Up's "Elektra: The Album," featuring Jet, Taking Back Sunday and Alter Bridge, bows at No. 62 on the strength of 14,000 units.
Also debuting are Donny Osmond's "What I Meant To Say" (Decca, No. 137), Madeleine Peyroux's "Careless Love" (Rounder, No. 168), the compilation "15 Duranguenses De Corazon" (Disa, No. 176), the "Napoleon Dynamite" soundtrack (Lakeshore, No. 181), the compilation "Parranda Tequilera 2005" (Univision Music Group, No. 184) and "Baby Einstein: Lullaby Classics" (Buena Vista, No. 191).
With an 83% spike to 22,000, Celine Dion's "Miracle" (Epic) far surpasses the sales gain of any other act on The Billboard 200 and rebounds 90-36. A rerun of the Canadian songstress' appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" fueled the charge for the photo/lullaby collaboration with Anne Geddes, which originally bowed at No. 4 in October 2004.
Overall U.S. album sales were down 9.5% from the previous week at 9.6 million units and 8.6% lower than the same week last year. In the second full week of sales for 2005, year-to-date sales of 20.3 million units are down 20% from 2004.
malhithearnaz
The Fly
It seems from these numbers that for the album to sell 20,000 -10,000 copies a week (as proposed in some quarters), it would have to settle in a position between No. 35 - 62. As of now there are no indications that this is going to happen anytime soon.
Soundscan numbers
Issue Date: Jan 29, 2005
1 GREEN DAY AMERICAN IDIOT 100,438 0,3 100,167 2,004,134
2 EMINEM ENCORE 84,470 -15,5 99,989 3,701,556
3 SHANIA TWAIN GREATEST HITS 73,834 68,669 7,5 2,478,551
4 JOHN LEGEND GET LIFTED 73,180 -2,2 74,831 265,637
5 LIL JON & THE EAST SIDE BOYZ CRUNK JUICE 70,107 -12,8 80,394 1,568,201
6 KELLY CLARKSON BREAKAWAY 60,307 -9,6 66,746 1,076,306
7 USHER CONFESSIONS 56,186 -16,6 67,402 8,102,182
8 JAY-Z/LINKIN PARK COLLISION COURSE 55,706 -18,0 67,896 1,333,447
9 LUDACRIS RED LIGHT DISTRICT 54,863 -26,3 74,450 1,050,390
10 VARIOUS NOW 17 53,318 -15,4 62,988 2,469,024
11 DESTINY'S CHILD DESTINY FULFILLED 53,172 -24 69,801 2,118,391
12 KEITH*TOBY VOL. 2-GREATEST HITS 52,190 13 46,096 2,015,183
13 U2 HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOM 48,557 -18 59,233 2,263,902
14 SNOOP DOGG R&G (RHYTHM) 43,504 -14 50,388 1,167,028
15 MARIO TURNING POINT 42,546 -13 49,102 580,248
16 STEFANI*GWEN LOVE.ANGEL.MUSIC.BABY 42,048 -21 52,915 1,103,625
17 CIARA GOODIES 41,851 -9 46,021 1,056,992
18 TUPAC LOYAL TO THE GAME 40,750 -26 55,306 761,979
19 NELLY SUIT 39,623 -9 43,407 2,533,133
Issue Date: Jan 29, 2005
1 GREEN DAY AMERICAN IDIOT 100,438 0,3 100,167 2,004,134
2 EMINEM ENCORE 84,470 -15,5 99,989 3,701,556
3 SHANIA TWAIN GREATEST HITS 73,834 68,669 7,5 2,478,551
4 JOHN LEGEND GET LIFTED 73,180 -2,2 74,831 265,637
5 LIL JON & THE EAST SIDE BOYZ CRUNK JUICE 70,107 -12,8 80,394 1,568,201
6 KELLY CLARKSON BREAKAWAY 60,307 -9,6 66,746 1,076,306
7 USHER CONFESSIONS 56,186 -16,6 67,402 8,102,182
8 JAY-Z/LINKIN PARK COLLISION COURSE 55,706 -18,0 67,896 1,333,447
9 LUDACRIS RED LIGHT DISTRICT 54,863 -26,3 74,450 1,050,390
10 VARIOUS NOW 17 53,318 -15,4 62,988 2,469,024
11 DESTINY'S CHILD DESTINY FULFILLED 53,172 -24 69,801 2,118,391
12 KEITH*TOBY VOL. 2-GREATEST HITS 52,190 13 46,096 2,015,183
13 U2 HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOM 48,557 -18 59,233 2,263,902
14 SNOOP DOGG R&G (RHYTHM) 43,504 -14 50,388 1,167,028
15 MARIO TURNING POINT 42,546 -13 49,102 580,248
16 STEFANI*GWEN LOVE.ANGEL.MUSIC.BABY 42,048 -21 52,915 1,103,625
17 CIARA GOODIES 41,851 -9 46,021 1,056,992
18 TUPAC LOYAL TO THE GAME 40,750 -26 55,306 761,979
19 NELLY SUIT 39,623 -9 43,407 2,533,133
Some numbers for U2 Catalog according to Soundscan:
Issue Date: January 8, 2005 (3 weeks ago)
War = 1,310,615 (since 1991)
Joshua Tree = 2,776,489 (since 1991)
Rattle & Hum = 1,113,582 (since 1991)
Achtung Baby = 5,329,427
Zooropa = 2,308,135
Pop = 1,478,957
Best Of 80-90 = 2,342,828 (issue date Jan 22)
All That You Can't Leave Behind = 4,114,924
Issue Date: January 8, 2005 (3 weeks ago)
War = 1,310,615 (since 1991)
Joshua Tree = 2,776,489 (since 1991)
Rattle & Hum = 1,113,582 (since 1991)
Achtung Baby = 5,329,427
Zooropa = 2,308,135
Pop = 1,478,957
Best Of 80-90 = 2,342,828 (issue date Jan 22)
All That You Can't Leave Behind = 4,114,924
Vox02
War Child
Spain
The album falls from #6 to #9 but Vertigo rises to number 1 again!! Five non-consecutive weeks at #1 by Vertigo. Great
HTDAAB
Chart: 1-5-5-5-5-6-6-9
Sales: 100,000? aprox.
Vertigo: 1-1-1-4-1-2-3-3-4-1
Vox
The album falls from #6 to #9 but Vertigo rises to number 1 again!! Five non-consecutive weeks at #1 by Vertigo. Great
HTDAAB
Chart: 1-5-5-5-5-6-6-9
Sales: 100,000? aprox.
Vertigo: 1-1-1-4-1-2-3-3-4-1
Vox
Soldatti said:
Just wanted to note that Soundscan only covered 40% of all sales back in 1991. By 1997, it coverage was up to 85%. Today it is at 90%-95%. So the numbers for albums prior to POP are not completely accurate as Soundscan covered a much smaller part of the market back then.
Soldatti said:
Thanks again for the Soundscan numbers!
I was predicting a number close to 50,000 and 48,557 is very close. #13 for the week is also a great position as well. ATYCLB was at #19 in this same week back in 2001.
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zoo tv mcg
The Fly
No 13 and 48k is a little better than Hits numbers. This is only a 18% drop off - still higher when comparing to other artists, but line ball with many others. However, I think the radio support for Sometimes in the UK is helping the album out over there (from 12 to 10) more than ABOY (so far) in the U.S where Bomb drops from 12 to 13
Sting2 - I take your point about the ATYCLB comparisons and the overall market is way less than in 01. But we also need to compare them to other artists and Green Day is a benchmark as a rock artist.
I was hoping for ABOY to hold sales steady, but at 114 (last week), it still needs to take effect. Be interesting if it cracks the top 100 this week.
I hope they release the video for Sometimes to the ROW this week as it must be close with a Feb 7 single launch date - this will help sales no doubt.
Regarding other posts on Jicks, I don't think calling some-one Troll is called for - lets just argue without name calling
Sting2 - I take your point about the ATYCLB comparisons and the overall market is way less than in 01. But we also need to compare them to other artists and Green Day is a benchmark as a rock artist.
I was hoping for ABOY to hold sales steady, but at 114 (last week), it still needs to take effect. Be interesting if it cracks the top 100 this week.
I hope they release the video for Sometimes to the ROW this week as it must be close with a Feb 7 single launch date - this will help sales no doubt.
Regarding other posts on Jicks, I don't think calling some-one Troll is called for - lets just argue without name calling
BigMacPhisto
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
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- 6,351
I think we've got way more illegal downloaders this time around......
Dima
Acrobat
BigMacPhisto said:
what market do you refer? in US singles have minimal impact on the charts (and actually there's no U2 singles available to buy there)
jick
Refugee
STING2 said:
I hope those figures are false. It would be downright embarassing for U2 to have albums released back in `83, `87, and `88 match or outsell POP in the 90s! Wow!
Cheers,
J
Billboard Summary for Week 8
I know some of this has been posted already, but here is the complete Billboard online summary for week 8:
HTDAAB - drops 1 spot to #13
- continues to be #1 downloaded album every week since release
Vertigo - drops to #52 on Hot 100
- Holds at #9 on Adult Top 40
- Falls 3 spots to #18 on Mainstream Rock Tracks
- RISES 4 spots on VH-1 TOP 20 video's to #15 after it's peak at #1 and apparent fall from the charts
- Up 1 spot to 11 on MTV2's Top 20 rock videos
All Because of You
- rise from #8 to #6 with increased airplay on Modern Rock tracks
- debuts on MTV Top 20 countdown at #17 (hard to believe)
For those disappointed with ABOY, consider this:
- it's already done better on the Mdrn Rock chart than any single off ATYCLB sans BD, and it appears headed for the top spot
- the video is getting great airplay
- the single hasn't even officially been released yet
- Vertigo just now appears to be leaving after 4+ months on various charts, making room for ABOY on the radio waves
I know some of this has been posted already, but here is the complete Billboard online summary for week 8:
HTDAAB - drops 1 spot to #13
- continues to be #1 downloaded album every week since release
Vertigo - drops to #52 on Hot 100
- Holds at #9 on Adult Top 40
- Falls 3 spots to #18 on Mainstream Rock Tracks
- RISES 4 spots on VH-1 TOP 20 video's to #15 after it's peak at #1 and apparent fall from the charts
- Up 1 spot to 11 on MTV2's Top 20 rock videos
All Because of You
- rise from #8 to #6 with increased airplay on Modern Rock tracks
- debuts on MTV Top 20 countdown at #17 (hard to believe)
For those disappointed with ABOY, consider this:
- it's already done better on the Mdrn Rock chart than any single off ATYCLB sans BD, and it appears headed for the top spot
- the video is getting great airplay
- the single hasn't even officially been released yet
- Vertigo just now appears to be leaving after 4+ months on various charts, making room for ABOY on the radio waves
jick
Refugee
Re: Billboard Summary for Week 8
This is encouraging news for U2. I may have to revise my predictions regarding album sales.
It is no big deal that it has done better than any ATYCLB track. BD was the only "hit" there, and there were only 3 other singles released anyway.
ABOY having not been officially released as a single yet has little or not effect whatsoever on chart positions.
While these chart positions and figures are encouraging in terms of chart positions (holding steady), the actual raw sales figures (units sold) are quite disappointing and indicative of the US market starting to let go of HTDAAB.
Cheers,
J
beLIEve said:
This is encouraging news for U2. I may have to revise my predictions regarding album sales.
It is no big deal that it has done better than any ATYCLB track. BD was the only "hit" there, and there were only 3 other singles released anyway.
ABOY having not been officially released as a single yet has little or not effect whatsoever on chart positions.
While these chart positions and figures are encouraging in terms of chart positions (holding steady), the actual raw sales figures (units sold) are quite disappointing and indicative of the US market starting to let go of HTDAAB.
Cheers,
J
BigMacPhisto
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
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- Jul 12, 2002
- Messages
- 6,351
Dima said:
I'm refering to the album being downloaded.
All Because Of You keeps on moving up the charts!
Modern Rock - 6 (with an increase in plays)
Vertigo is at #18 on the Mainstream Rock charts.......ABOY will keep on moving up in that chart when stations keep dropping Vertigo from heavy rotation.......with the increase in plays for ABOY, I believe they'll soon have another track into the Top 100, which as someone mentioned was something that both "Walk On" and "Elevation" failed to do here in America.
And the band will be performing on the Grammys! So a boost in sales should be expected with both the new single and the performance.
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BigMacPhisto said:
It's true, both tracks failed to make the Hot 100 but were on the Bubbling Under chart for some weeks:
- Walk On (#118, entry date: 24/02/2001, peak date: 10/03/2001, 4 wks bubbling)
- Elevation (#116, entry date: 23/06/2001, peak date: 23/06/2001, 3 wks bubbling)
Dima
Acrobat
Re: Re: Billboard Summary for Week 8
i think tthese numbers are indicative of a crisis in the CD market...ATYCLB in thesame week of 4 yrs ago with 59k copies was #19...now 59k copies would be enough for #7 (and less than 1,000 copies from #6) and #19 sold 43k copies this week: -26%..1 out of 4 cd sold in 2001 is missing these daysjick said:
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doctorwho
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
jick said:
Sting2 and I disagree on this all the time.
While Sting2 is right in that SoundScan only counted 40% of scanned sales back in 1991, they then extrapolated for the entire country. As more systems were installed, the numbers increased to near 100% scanning of all sales.
But this "extrapoloation" is key. For example, AB sold 295,000 copies its first week. It's not that this is 40% of the actual number. Rather, this was the extrapolated number based on having 40% of possible data in. So yes, there could and most likely were errors. In fact, I recall a few times labels fought over who really had the #1 album. One time SoundScan said it was one artist, while the label said per their numbers, it was another artist.
However, now that there's near 100% of the data reported, there is no need for extrapoloation and hence these arguments don't occur. Additionally, the lack of extrapoloation means more accurate numbers. Extrapolation is "guess work" and projections.
Regardless, the numbers you see reported are actual total sales - not just 40% of said sales. If you doubt what I write, please read the Billboard article on the front page of Interference.
And yes, several 80's albums outsold "Pop". "Pop" only sold 1.5M in the U.S.
That said, please note that selling 1.5M albums is still an excellent amount. Many artists fail to go Platinum. Yes, it is a huge decrease for U2, and perhaps a disappointment as a result, but it is still a success.
In another thread you asked if anything would change if "Pop" were released during the holidays of 1996. I say that most likely the album would have cleared the 2M mark, thus going Double Platinum in the U.S. Still not a super huge hit, but perhaps a more respectable number for some.
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Traditional Music Retailers
If you look at the "top tens" at Hit's Daily Double, HTDAAB does very well at the traditional music retailers like Borders, Virgin, etc. For example, for the current chart (last week), the album was ranked in the top 10 at 4 of the 6 retailers that reported:
Border's:
week ending: 01/21/2005
1. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Soundtrack Sony Classical
2. GARDEN STATE
Soundtrack Epic
3. U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Interscope
4. GREEN DAY
American Idiot Reprise
5. RAY CHARLES
Genius Loves Company Concord
Newbury Comic's:
week ending: 01/21/2005
1. GREEN DAY
American Idiot Reprise
2. EMINEM
Encore Shady/Interscope
3. KILLERS
Hot Fuss Island/IDJ
4. GARDEN STATE
Soundtrack Epic
5. JAY-Z/LINKIN PARK
Collision Course Warner Bros.
6. MODEST MOUSE
Good News For People Who Love... Epic
7. JOHN LEGEND
Get Lifted Getting Out Our/Columbia
8. ARCADE FIRE
Funeral Merge
9. GWEN STEFANI
Love, Angel, Music, Baby Interscope
10. U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Virgin's Megastore's
week ending: 01/21/2005
1. JOHN LEGEND
Get Lifted Getting Out Our/Columbia
2. GREEN DAY
American Idiot Reprise
3. U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Interscope
4. GWEN STEFANI
Love, Angel, Music, Baby Interscope
5. GARDEN STATE
Soundtrack Epic
Tower Record's
week ending: 01/21/2005
1. JOHN LEGEND
Get Lifted Getting Out Our/Columbia
2. GREEN DAY
American Idiot Reprise
3. GARDEN STATE
Soundtrack Epic
4. GWEN STEFANI
Love, Angel, Music, Baby Interscope
5. KILLERS
Hot Fuss Island/IDJ
6. U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Interscope
7. EMINEM
Encore Shady/Interscope
8. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Soundtrack Sony Classical
9. 2PAC
Loyal To The Game Interscope
10. JAY-Z/LINKIN PARK
Collision Course
I am guessing that people shopping these stores are in the 25-44 demographic, which is probably U2's biggest fan base, too. However, at U2.com and even here there seem to be a lot of younger fans as well, and U2 is one of a handful of acts that probably have 3 generations of fans.
If the album averages #5 in sales at traditional retail outlets, and it has been the #1 downloaded album for 8 weeks straight, does this say that the majority of CD sales in the U.S. now come from Wal Mart, Best Buy, and other major discounters? If so, that would lead one to believe that HTDAAB sales are not doing near as well at the discounters, perhaps averaging #20 IF we are talking a 50/50 split in sales between traditional retailers & the big discounters?
I have no idea what the real sales figures are at the various outlets...does anyone? Aside from the incredible download figures for Vertigo and HTDAAB, it would seem that the 16-24 crowd just might not be into this album. I had the impression - right or wrong - that U2 had really connected with this age group with ATYCLB. I had the same impression with HTDAAB because of the Internet and video success on MTV (not VH-1...they seem to be a given for strong U2 support).
Any thoughts or facts on how U2 is doing these days among different age groups? Do discount retailers "rank" or publish album sales on a weekly basis? Overall, CD sales are so low right now that I do believe ALL albums are being hurt by illegal downloads...and if U2 is the #1 album downloaded legally, it would not surprise me if it's the #1 album downloaded illegally.
P.S. Still recovering from back surgery...I obviously still have way too much time on my hands
If you look at the "top tens" at Hit's Daily Double, HTDAAB does very well at the traditional music retailers like Borders, Virgin, etc. For example, for the current chart (last week), the album was ranked in the top 10 at 4 of the 6 retailers that reported:
Border's:
week ending: 01/21/2005
1. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Soundtrack Sony Classical
2. GARDEN STATE
Soundtrack Epic
3. U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Interscope
4. GREEN DAY
American Idiot Reprise
5. RAY CHARLES
Genius Loves Company Concord
Newbury Comic's:
week ending: 01/21/2005
1. GREEN DAY
American Idiot Reprise
2. EMINEM
Encore Shady/Interscope
3. KILLERS
Hot Fuss Island/IDJ
4. GARDEN STATE
Soundtrack Epic
5. JAY-Z/LINKIN PARK
Collision Course Warner Bros.
6. MODEST MOUSE
Good News For People Who Love... Epic
7. JOHN LEGEND
Get Lifted Getting Out Our/Columbia
8. ARCADE FIRE
Funeral Merge
9. GWEN STEFANI
Love, Angel, Music, Baby Interscope
10. U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Virgin's Megastore's
week ending: 01/21/2005
1. JOHN LEGEND
Get Lifted Getting Out Our/Columbia
2. GREEN DAY
American Idiot Reprise
3. U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Interscope
4. GWEN STEFANI
Love, Angel, Music, Baby Interscope
5. GARDEN STATE
Soundtrack Epic
Tower Record's
week ending: 01/21/2005
1. JOHN LEGEND
Get Lifted Getting Out Our/Columbia
2. GREEN DAY
American Idiot Reprise
3. GARDEN STATE
Soundtrack Epic
4. GWEN STEFANI
Love, Angel, Music, Baby Interscope
5. KILLERS
Hot Fuss Island/IDJ
6. U2
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb Interscope
7. EMINEM
Encore Shady/Interscope
8. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
Soundtrack Sony Classical
9. 2PAC
Loyal To The Game Interscope
10. JAY-Z/LINKIN PARK
Collision Course
I am guessing that people shopping these stores are in the 25-44 demographic, which is probably U2's biggest fan base, too. However, at U2.com and even here there seem to be a lot of younger fans as well, and U2 is one of a handful of acts that probably have 3 generations of fans.
If the album averages #5 in sales at traditional retail outlets, and it has been the #1 downloaded album for 8 weeks straight, does this say that the majority of CD sales in the U.S. now come from Wal Mart, Best Buy, and other major discounters? If so, that would lead one to believe that HTDAAB sales are not doing near as well at the discounters, perhaps averaging #20 IF we are talking a 50/50 split in sales between traditional retailers & the big discounters?
I have no idea what the real sales figures are at the various outlets...does anyone? Aside from the incredible download figures for Vertigo and HTDAAB, it would seem that the 16-24 crowd just might not be into this album. I had the impression - right or wrong - that U2 had really connected with this age group with ATYCLB. I had the same impression with HTDAAB because of the Internet and video success on MTV (not VH-1...they seem to be a given for strong U2 support).
Any thoughts or facts on how U2 is doing these days among different age groups? Do discount retailers "rank" or publish album sales on a weekly basis? Overall, CD sales are so low right now that I do believe ALL albums are being hurt by illegal downloads...and if U2 is the #1 album downloaded legally, it would not surprise me if it's the #1 album downloaded illegally.
P.S. Still recovering from back surgery...I obviously still have way too much time on my hands
fitz
Acrobat
In Canada down from #4 to #5 with sales of ca. 6k - 7k
Popmartijn
Blue Crack Supplier
zoo tv mcg said:
Green Day is indeed a very good comparison as a benchmark. It is also the only other rock record in the top 20!
I read in a Washington Post story that only the records by Evanescence and U2 were in the top 20 of best selling albums of 2004! So at the moment U2 is almost the only big rock band competing on the charts.And oh, although Green Day is currently the #1 selling album in the USA, its total sales are still less than U2's, even though it's been out 9 weeks longer. And of all the albums in the top 20, only five have sold more copies in total.
So I have to say that U2 is doing quite well in the USA.
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