Originally posted by doctorwho:
Just a quick correction on the chart/sales numbers there.
Creed's "Weathered" has been #1 on the Billboard chart for 4 consecutive weeks. Billboard creates their chart based on SoundScan sales. Sales for this past week were over 550,000 copies, which was enough for the #1 position. There are weeks when that total is not enough.
The SoundScan numbers come from the actual number of times an album is scanned at a register. In the early days, SoundScan would rely on the businesses that used scanners and estimate for the rest of the country. These days, just about every store relies on a scanner, so the numbers are very accurate. In other words, these are the actual number of copies sold to consumers in a given week.
That "4x Platinum" indication you see next to the album indicates how many copies where bought by stores - NOT by customers. Stores across the U.S. bought 4 million copies of the album. Creed's label paid the RIAA to audit them and confirm sales of 4 million copies. At this point, the album can then get certification for 4x Platinum. The number of copies sold to stores (also referred to as "shipped to stores) does NOT have to equal the number of copies bought by actual consumers.
Overall, I would say that consumers have bought about 2.5 million copies of "Weathered" in the past 4 weeks. Stores have an extra 1.5 million copies in anticipation of future sales.
