doctorwho
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Yep, it's going to need more exposure to catch on now. We'll have to see how it does on the radio charts after its first full week on the air.
It's a shame because if they didn't do the goofy two album single download thing, it probably could have sustained more interest on iTunes for a couple more days in the top 10.
Oh well, the album will sell boatloads in the US and I think GOYB will get a big boost later from promotion/a music video/etc. If not, it's going to be a hit overseas and there are other songs in the US I'm sure they can make successful if they really try
And yes, please share your thoughts on how much you think the album will sell. Obviously it depends somewhat on how good it is and how successful the singles are, but HTDAAB really only had one big single in the US and was still very successful. Also, what do you think the effect of the economic downturn will be? I can see it working both ways. Maybe people will be more likely to buy a U2 album in tough economic times because it from a familiar band they love in a bunch of uncertainty. At the same time, maybe people just don't want to spend money on music this year. I remember reading that business at libraries in the US has skyrocketed in the economic downturn, so it obviously has some strange impacts on what people do with their time and money...
I think the fact that GOYB didn't hit the top 10 on downloads didn't hurt it too much. After all, as soon as one opens iTunes, there's a big ad for the new U2 album! And it states that one can get the single now!
I am confused why they have two versions. One cannot download the album. But I guess if one goes to the album site and then downloads the song, that counts as one download. If one downloads through the search for the single, then that's the other download. Still, wouldn't this be true for ALL songs that are both singles and on albums? How come I don't see two entries for all the other songs? Most odd.
Regardless, the iTunes ad is there and the U2 album is still the #1 download. So U2 are getting their share of recognition on iTunes.
GOYB isn't as radio-friendly as "Vertigo". It's not as pop-rock as "Desire". It's not as adult contemporary as "Beautiful Day" and it's not the love ballad of WOWY. While I really like GOYB, I equate it to "The Fly" and "Discotheque" cross. It has the "new U2" aspect that helped "Discotheque" become a hit, but it is a high quality song, like "The Fly", that won't turn fans on the album (and love or hate "Discotheque", one has to accept that it turned a lot of fans off of U2 and "Pop", despite the songs initial appeal).
"The Fly" was not a big hit in the U.S. AB sold well because of the one-two punch of "Mysterious Ways" and "One", both of which dominated rock radio and sold well. The two songs showed two sides of U2, and both were very radio-friendly. With two Top 10 songs, it's easy to see why AB did so well for so long.
Without having heard the other songs on NLOTH, I don't know how well the album will do. I've been wrong a few times, thinking songs like "Stuck..." wouldn't do well - yet it did. Still, despite U2 claiming the last two albums were supposed to be full of singles, they really had only a few songs that I would claim could truly be hits. While U2's appeal is sounding different from the mainstream, sometimes their songs are a bit too different to be accepted. This happened with "Last Night on Earth" and "Sometimes..." (and surprisingly with songs like "All I Want Is You" and "Electrical Storm").
If GOYB is given a big push (radio, TV ad, U2 performances on TV, etc.), then it might be a big enough hit to give the album a big initial push. When the economy is bad, like now, people are willing to buy only little things. Albums, songs, etc. will sell a bit more because people will buy those "creature comforts" instead of cars, homes, or more expensive electronics.
But if GOYB is left to more traditional radio only play, and U2 don't really do much promotion, then we might see more moderate sales. The U2 name alone will probably still generate sales of 400-600K in the U.S. the first week. But to get higher, like HTDAAB did, we need a bigger push (like the "Vertigo" iPod ad, which helped "Vertigo" become a hit, thus feuling desire for the album).
Personally, I'd rather see more slow, but steady sales, kind of like JT, AB and ATYCLB, rather than the initial burst but then a faster decline (like "Pop", which fell really hard, or HTDAAB, which had over 2 million copies sold in the U.S. in mere weeks, but 1 million thereafter).